🔗 Share this article

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

The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final twin killing, silencing a home crowd that had come ready to cheer the city’s first title in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith doubled to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the title holders' hopes of becoming the first repeat championship victors since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He struck out eight through three innings, tying a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three runs on three hits and two free passes.

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

The only run against him came on George Springer two-out single in the third inning, scoring Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. That single provided a momentary lift in his return to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Barger followed with a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and threw to second base to retire Barger, sealing the win and earning the pitcher his first career successful save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the sole active hurler to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after doing so 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 Los Angeles squad, looking to be baseball’s first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a short outing.