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This year's World Series is headed to a final seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their repeat hopes alive on Friday with a three to one victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending double play, silencing a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two away, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the initial back-to-back championship winners since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that point, fanning half a dozen of the initial seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned eight through three innings, tying a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with eight strikeouts over six frames, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, allowing a single run on five hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him came on Springer’s two-out base hit in the third inning, scoring Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. That single offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an oblique injury.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Justin Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Addison Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in relief and induced a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández made the catch and fired to second to double off the runner, clinching the victory and earning Glasnow his first career successful save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to start multiple World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The veteran signed a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to become baseball’s initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.