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The championship series is headed to a decisive seventh game following the Dodgers kept alive their title defense hopes intact Friday night with a three to one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending double play, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith doubled to left field to score Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, handing the Dodgers a three-run lead.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of being the initial back-to-back championship winners since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the initial seven batters he confronted. He struck out 8 through three innings, tying a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The righty outdueled Gausman for the second occasion in a week, giving up one run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him came on Springer’s two-out base hit in the third, scoring Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. That single provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Bullpen Effort

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to start the inning. Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to stay at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to retire Barger, sealing the win and giving Glasnow his first-ever save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran signed a single-season contract to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, looking to become the sport's first back-to-back title winners in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.