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

The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending twin killing, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had come ready to cheer the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Summary

Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Edman. Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-run single to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship winners since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

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

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a seven days, giving up one run on five base hits over six frames with six Ks. He boosted his record to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out single in the third inning, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit provided a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after missing a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Addison Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, entered in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left. Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to double off Barger, clinching the victory and earning the pitcher his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, making him the sole active hurler to start more than one World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran signed a single-season contract to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to become baseball’s initial repeat title winners in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.