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

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final double play, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s championship in over three decades.

Sixth Game Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Ohtani was purposely passed 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-run single to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship winners since the Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Battle

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, fanning six of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a Fall Classic mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with 8 Ks over six innings, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, giving up one run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him resulted from Springer’s two-out single in the third inning, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. That single provided a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an oblique injury.

Relief Heroics

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh inning, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to start the frame. Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in a relief role and got a popout before Giménez hit a line drive to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and threw to second base to retire the runner, sealing the victory and earning Glasnow his first career save.

Next Up: Game 7

The series now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The veteran signed a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, looking to become baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.