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This year's World Series is headed to a decisive seventh game following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense hopes alive on Friday with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending double play, stunning a home crowd that had come ready to celebrate the city’s championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

Los Angeles generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left field to score Edman. Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a three-run lead.

Betts’ hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship winners since the Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned 8 through three innings, matching a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched his counterpart for the second time in a seven days, allowing one run on five base hits over six frames with six Ks. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him resulted from Springer’s two-out single in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. That single provided a brief spark in his comeback to the starting nine after missing a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Relief Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Addison Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, forcing base runners to hold at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, entered in a relief role and induced a popout before Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to double off the runner, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first career successful save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The series now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to start multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, aiming to become baseball’s initial repeat champions in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.