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The World Series is going to a decisive seventh game following the Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams intact on Friday with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had come ready to celebrate the city’s championship in over three decades.

Sixth Game Summary

Los Angeles generated all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a playoff dry spell and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Duel

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning six of the initial seven batters he faced. He struck out eight through three innings, tying a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace finished with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three hits and two walks.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under stress. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second time in a seven days, giving up a single run on five base hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him resulted from Springer’s two-out single in the third, scoring Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single provided a brief spark in his comeback to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Relief Effort

After that, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Addison Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, forcing base runners to hold at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, came on in a relief role and got a popout before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to retire the runner, clinching the victory and earning the pitcher his first career successful save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The series now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran signed a one-year deal to pursue 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 almost 25 years, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a short outing.