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This year's World Series is headed to a decisive seventh game after the Dodgers kept their repeat dreams alive Friday night with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final twin killing, stunning a home crowd that had come ready to celebrate the city’s championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left to bring home Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, handing the Dodgers a three-run lead.

Betts’ hit snapped a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back championship victors since the Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, fanning half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He struck out 8 through three innings, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

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

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

Relief Effort

After that, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. Rookie Justin Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, forcing runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, came on in a relief role and induced a popout before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to retire the runner, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first career save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, looking to become baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in almost 25 years, are projected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.