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The championship series is going to a decisive seventh game after the Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams intact on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending twin killing, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Summary

Los Angeles generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-run single to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the initial back-to-back championship winners since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Duel

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, fanning half a dozen of the initial seven Dodgers he confronted. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a World Series mark, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star finished with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled Gausman for the second occasion in a week, giving up a single run on five hits over six innings with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, scoring Addison 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 missing two games with an oblique injury.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Addison Barger followed with a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, came on in relief and got a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Enrique Hernández made the catch and threw to second to double off Barger, clinching the victory and giving the pitcher his first career save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The series now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The veteran inked a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, looking to be the sport's initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.