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The championship series is headed to a decisive Game 7 following the Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams alive Friday night with a three to one win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final twin killing, silencing a home audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Summary

Los Angeles generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two outs, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith doubled to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls 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 snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the first repeat championship victors since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning six of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He struck out 8 through three frames, matching a World Series mark, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up a single run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He improved to 4–1 this playoffs 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 earlier in the inning. That single provided a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out two games with an side strain.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to start the frame. Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to hold at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in relief and induced a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández made the catch and threw to second to double off the runner, clinching the win and giving the pitcher his first career save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The series now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the only living pitcher to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to become baseball’s first back-to-back champions in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.