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The championship series is going to a final Game 7 following the Dodgers kept their repeat hopes intact Friday night with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending double play, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith doubled to left to score Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a three-run lead.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the initial back-to-back championship winners since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Duel

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned 8 through three innings, tying a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up a single run on five hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, scoring Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single provided a brief spark in his return to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Kirk to open the frame. Addison Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the outfield wall, forcing runners to hold at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starting pitcher, came on in relief and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left field. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to double off Barger, sealing the win and earning the pitcher his first career save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran inked a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to be baseball’s initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.