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

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending twin killing, stunning a home audience that had come ready to cheer the team's first title in over three decades.

Sixth Game Summary

Los Angeles generated all of their scoring in the third inning. With two away, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. 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 lead.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ hopes of becoming the first repeat World Series winners since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, allowing one run on five hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, scoring Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after missing two games with an side strain.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starter, entered in a relief role and got a popout before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to retire the runner, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first-ever successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The series now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the sole active hurler to pitch in multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran signed a one-year deal to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, looking to be baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in almost 25 years, are expected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.