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This year's World Series is headed to a final Game 7 following the Dodgers kept alive their repeat hopes intact on Friday with a 3–1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final twin killing, stunning a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Recap

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

That key hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' hopes of being the initial back-to-back World Series victors since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Duel

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out six of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He struck out 8 through three frames, 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 hits and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second time in a seven days, allowing a single run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit provided a momentary lift in his return to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.

Relief Heroics

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

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, came on in relief and induced a pop fly before Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to double off the runner, sealing the win and earning Glasnow his first-ever successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The 40-year-old signed a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to become the sport's first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on their two-way star for a short outing.