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This year's World Series is headed to a final seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams intact on Friday with a three to one win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, silencing a home audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s championship in over three decades.

Sixth Game Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith doubled to left to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three innings, matching a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Toronto ace finished with 8 Ks over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits 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 seven days, giving up one run on five base hits over six frames with six Ks. He boosted his record to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on Springer’s two-out single in the third inning, driving in Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single provided a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after missing two games with an side strain.

Relief Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to stay at second and third base.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in relief and got a pop fly before Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández made the catch and threw to second base to retire Barger, sealing the victory and giving Glasnow his first career successful save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to pitch in multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to become baseball’s initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a short outing.