🔗 Share this article

The championship series is headed to a final Game 7 after the Dodgers kept alive their repeat hopes intact on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending double play, stunning a home crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s first title in over three decades.

Sixth Game Summary

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of being the initial back-to-back World Series victors since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Battle

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He struck out 8 through three innings, tying a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three earned runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled Gausman for the second time in a week, allowing a single run on five hits over six innings with six Ks. 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 inning, scoring Addison Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after missing a pair of contests with an side strain.

Relief Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and fellow rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger followed with a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, forcing runners to hold at second and third.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, came on in a relief role and got a popout before Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to double off the runner, sealing the win and earning the pitcher his first career save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the sole active hurler to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The 40-year-old signed a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to become baseball’s initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to lean on their two-way star for a short outing.