🔗 Share this article

This year's World Series is going to a decisive Game 7 following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their repeat hopes alive Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending twin killing, silencing a home crowd that had come ready to cheer the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Summary

Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Tommy Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ hopes of being the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning six of the initial seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three frames, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under stress. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second time in a seven days, allowing a single run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss 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 doubled previously in the frame. Springer’s hit provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Relief Effort

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

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in relief and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second to retire Barger, clinching the win and giving the pitcher his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The series now comes down to a single contest. Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, becoming the sole active hurler to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to be the sport's first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are projected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.