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This year's championship series is headed to a final Game 7 following the Dodgers kept their repeat dreams alive on Friday with a three to one victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending double play, silencing a home audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s championship in 32 years.

Sixth Game Recap

Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to left, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

That key hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship winners since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Battle

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning half a dozen of the initial seven batters he faced. He fanned eight through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second time in a week, allowing a single run on five 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 only run against him resulted from Springer’s two-out single in the third, driving in Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit offered a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after missing a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging runners to stay at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starting pitcher, came on in relief and got a popout before Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to retire the runner, sealing the win and giving Glasnow his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the only living pitcher to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, aiming to become baseball’s first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.