Los Angeles Dodgers Survive in Toronto to Force Winner-Take-All Game 7 in Fall Classic

This year's World Series is going to a final Game 7 following the Dodgers kept their repeat dreams intact on Friday with a three to one victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling final double play, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s first title in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ hopes of being the initial back-to-back championship victors since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Battle

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the initial seven Dodgers he confronted. He fanned eight through three frames, tying a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, giving up one run on five hits over six innings with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him resulted from George Springer two-out single in the third, scoring Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. Springer’s hit offered a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after missing a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Relief Effort

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández made the catch and threw to second to double off Barger, clinching the win and earning Glasnow his first-ever successful save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to start more than one World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with Washington. The veteran inked a single-season contract to pursue 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 expected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.