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This year's championship series is going to a final seventh game after the Dodgers kept their title defense dreams alive Friday night with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final double play, silencing a home crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith doubled to left field to bring home Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and revived the defending champions’ hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back World Series victors since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He struck out 8 through three frames, tying a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with 8 Ks over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under pressure. The righty outdueled Gausman for the second occasion in a week, giving up one run on five hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

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

Relief Effort

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Kirk to start the frame. Addison Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging runners to hold at second and third base.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in relief and got a popout before Giménez lined to left field. Enrique Hernández made the catch and threw to second base to retire Barger, sealing the win and earning Glasnow his first-ever save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, 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 the Nationals. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to become the sport's initial repeat champions in almost 25 years, are expected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.