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This year's World Series is going to a final Game 7 following the Dodgers kept their title defense dreams intact Friday night with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's first title in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith doubled to left to score Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

Betts’ hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' hopes of becoming the first repeat World Series winners since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning six of the initial seven batters he confronted. He fanned eight through three frames, tying a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with 8 Ks over six innings, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The righty outdueled Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up one run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He boosted his record to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him came on Springer’s two-out single in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single offered a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an side strain.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Addison Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in relief and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández made the catch and threw to second to retire the runner, sealing the victory and giving Glasnow his first career save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The series now boils down to one game. Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to be the sport's initial repeat title winners in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on their two-way star for a short outing.