The championship series is going to a decisive seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams alive Friday night with a three to one win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.
The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling final double play, silencing a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s first title in over three decades.
The Dodgers generated all of their scoring in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-run single to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.
That key hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of being the first repeat World Series winners since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.
Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He struck out 8 through three innings, matching a Fall Classic record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three earned runs on three hits and two walks.
Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under pressure. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up a single run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.
The only run against him resulted from Springer’s two-out single in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. Springer’s hit offered a momentary lift in his return to the starting nine after missing two games with an side strain.
From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to open the inning. Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging runners to hold at second and third base.
Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starting pitcher, entered in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to double off the runner, clinching the victory and earning the pitcher his first career successful save.
The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the sole active hurler to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.
The Dodgers, aiming to become the sport's initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.
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