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This year's World Series is going to a final seventh game after the Dodgers kept their repeat hopes alive on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending double play, stunning a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Summary

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Edman. 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.

Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship winners since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Duel

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He fanned 8 through three innings, matching a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under pressure. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second time in a week, allowing one run on five base hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on 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 momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Bullpen Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Kirk to open the frame. Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starting pitcher, entered in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to double off the runner, sealing the victory and earning the pitcher his first career successful save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the sole active hurler to start multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran inked a one-year deal to chase one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, looking to be baseball’s initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.