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This year's championship series is headed to a final Game 7 after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense dreams alive Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling game-ending double play, stunning a home audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s championship in over three decades.

Sixth Game Recap

Los Angeles 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 earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the first repeat World Series victors since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He struck out eight through three innings, tying a Fall Classic mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace finished with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing one run on five hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on Springer’s two-out base hit in the third inning, driving in Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit offered a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after missing two games with an oblique injury.

Relief Heroics

After that, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to hold at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in relief and got a pop fly before Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to double off the runner, clinching the win and earning the pitcher his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, becoming the sole active hurler to start multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran inked a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to be the sport's initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.