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The championship series is headed to a final Game 7 after the Dodgers kept their title defense hopes intact Friday night with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, stunning a home crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Summary

The Dodgers generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two outs, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship victors since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, fanning six of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He fanned 8 through three innings, tying a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing three runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing a single run on five hits over six frames with six Ks. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, driving in Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. That single offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out two games with an oblique injury.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Addison Barger followed with a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to hold at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starting pitcher, entered in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left. Enrique Hernández made the catch and threw to second to retire the runner, sealing the victory and giving Glasnow his first-ever save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The series now boils down to one game. Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran signed a one-year deal to pursue one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, aiming to become the sport's first back-to-back champions in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.