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The World Series is going to a decisive seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their repeat hopes intact on Friday with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Recap

The Dodgers generated all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Tommy 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, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship winners since the Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He struck out 8 through three innings, tying a Fall Classic mark, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under pressure. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second time in a week, giving up one run on five hits over six innings with six Ks. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from Springer’s two-out single in the third, scoring Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. 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 Effort

After that, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Justin Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Barger followed with a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández made the catch and threw to second base to retire Barger, clinching the win and earning Glasnow his first-ever successful save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the only living pitcher to start multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with Washington. The veteran signed a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

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