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This year's World Series is headed to a final seventh game after the Los Angeles 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 defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final double play, silencing a home audience that had come ready to celebrate the city’s first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Summary

Los Angeles generated all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith doubled to left field to bring home Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

That key hit broke a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the initial back-to-back championship winners since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Battle

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a World Series mark, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under stress. The righty outdueled Gausman for the second occasion in a week, giving up one run on five hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, driving in Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single offered a momentary lift in his return to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an side strain.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Addison Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to double off the runner, clinching the victory and earning Glasnow his first career successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The veteran signed a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to be baseball’s initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.