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The World Series is going to a decisive seventh game following the Dodgers kept alive their title defense hopes alive on Friday with a three to one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending twin killing, silencing a home audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's championship in 32 years.

Sixth Game Summary

Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

Betts’ hit snapped a playoff dry spell and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship victors since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Duel

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the initial seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three frames, matching a Fall Classic record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under pressure. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, giving up one run on five hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him came on Springer’s two-out single in the third, driving in Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single provided a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after missing two games with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Effort

After that, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, forcing runners to hold at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, entered in relief and induced a popout before Giménez lined to left field. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to retire Barger, clinching the win and giving Glasnow his first career successful save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the sole active hurler to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The 40-year-old inked a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

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