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This year's championship series is headed to a decisive Game 7 following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense 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 double play, silencing a Rogers Centre audience that had come ready to celebrate the city’s championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Summary

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left field to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the initial back-to-back World Series victors since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The righty outdueled Gausman 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 playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out single in the third, driving in Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after missing a pair of contests with an side strain.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a two-base hit that became wedged under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to stay at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, came on in relief and induced a popout before Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández made the catch and threw to second base to double off the runner, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first career successful save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to pursue one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, aiming to become baseball’s initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.