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This year's World Series is headed to a final Game 7 after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense hopes intact on Friday with a 3–1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling game-ending double play, stunning a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's championship in over three decades.

Sixth Game Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and revived the title holders' hopes of being the first repeat championship victors since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Duel

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning six of the first seven batters he confronted. He struck out 8 through three frames, matching a Fall Classic mark, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six frames, yielding three runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, allowing a single run on five base hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third, scoring Addison Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. Springer’s hit offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after missing a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to open the frame. Addison Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to stay at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in relief and induced a popout before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to retire the runner, sealing the win and earning the pitcher his first-ever successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The series now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old inked a one-year deal to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to become the sport's initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.