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The World Series is headed to a final seventh game following the Dodgers kept their title defense hopes intact on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending double play, stunning a home crowd that had come ready to cheer the team's first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Summary

The Dodgers generated all of their scoring in the third inning. With two away, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Tommy Edman. Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

Betts’ hit snapped a playoff dry spell and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the initial back-to-back championship victors since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He fanned 8 through three frames, tying a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled Gausman for the second time in a week, allowing one run on five base hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third, driving in Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. Springer’s hit offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. First-year pitcher Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in a relief role and induced a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Enrique Hernández made the catch and fired to second to double off Barger, sealing the victory and earning the pitcher his first-ever successful save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran signed a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to be baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.