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The World Series is going to a decisive Game 7 following the Dodgers kept their title defense hopes intact Friday night with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, stunning a home crowd that had come ready to celebrate the team's championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run lead.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and revived the title holders' hopes of becoming the first repeat World Series winners since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing a single run on five base hits over six frames with six Ks. He boosted his record to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, driving in Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after missing two games with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to hold at second and third.

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

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The series now boils down to one game. Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, becoming the sole active hurler to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after doing so in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to pursue another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to become baseball’s first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.