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The championship series is going to a final Game 7 after the Dodgers kept their title defense hopes intact Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling final double play, stunning a home crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Recap

Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith doubled to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run lead.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the first repeat World Series victors since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Battle

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

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second time in a week, allowing one run on five base hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this postseason 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 hit a double previously in the frame. Springer’s hit offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to hold at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Hernández caught the ball and threw to second base to double off Barger, sealing the victory and giving the pitcher his first career save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to start multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran signed a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, looking to be baseball’s initial repeat champions in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.