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The championship series is going to a decisive seventh game following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams intact on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Summary

Los Angeles generated all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a three-run lead.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' hopes of becoming the first repeat World Series victors since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, striking out six of the initial seven batters he faced. He fanned eight through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second time in a seven days, giving up a single run on five hits over six innings with six Ks. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from Springer’s two-out base hit in the third, scoring Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Heroics

From there, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. Rookie Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Kirk to start the frame. Barger followed with a two-base hit that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, came on in relief and induced a popout before Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to retire Barger, sealing the victory and giving Glasnow his first-ever successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The veteran signed a one-year deal to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

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