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This year's World Series is headed to a decisive Game 7 after the Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams intact on Friday with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had come ready to celebrate the team's championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

Los Angeles generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Tommy Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-run single to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and revived the defending champions’ hopes of being the initial back-to-back championship winners since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out six of the initial seven Dodgers he confronted. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, giving up one run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, driving in Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit offered a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out two games with an side strain.

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Addison Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to stay at second and third.

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

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to pitch in multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The veteran inked a single-season contract to pursue 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 champions in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.