Los Angeles Dodgers Survive in Canada to Force Winner-Take-All Game 7 in World Series
The World Series is going to a decisive seventh game following the Dodgers kept their title defense dreams intact on Friday with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.
The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling game-ending double play, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's championship in 32 years.
Sixth Game Summary
Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith doubled to left to score Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.
That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.
Mound Duel
Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that point, fanning half a dozen of the initial seven Dodgers he confronted. He struck out 8 through three frames, tying a Fall Classic mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled Gausman for the second occasion in a week, giving up one run on five base hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.
The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out single in the third inning, scoring Addison Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after missing two games with an oblique injury.
Relief Effort
After that, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Justin Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh inning, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before hitting Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger followed with a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to hold at second and third base.
Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, came on in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to retire the runner, sealing the victory and earning Glasnow his first-ever save.
Looking Ahead: Game 7
The series now comes down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, making him the sole active hurler to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran inked a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.
The Dodgers, aiming to become baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.