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The championship series is going to a final seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their repeat dreams intact Friday night with a three to one win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling final twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s first title in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

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

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ hopes of being the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning six of the initial seven batters he faced. He struck out 8 through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six innings, allowing three runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled his counterpart for the second occasion in a seven days, giving up one run on five hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

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

Relief Heroics

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Kirk to start the frame. Addison Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to hold at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in relief and induced a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández made the catch and fired to second to retire Barger, clinching the victory and earning Glasnow his first career successful save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The veteran signed a single-season contract to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, looking to be baseball’s first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are expected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.