The World Series is headed to a final seventh game following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their repeat hopes 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 double play, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had come ready to cheer the team's first title in over three decades.
Sixth Game Summary
The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Tommy Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a three-run lead.
That key hit snapped a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship victors since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.
Pitching Battle
Gausman had been dominant to that point, fanning six of the initial seven batters he confronted. He fanned 8 through three frames, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Toronto ace finished with 8 Ks over six innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two free passes.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second time in a seven days, allowing one run on five base hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.
The only run against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. That single provided a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.
Bullpen Effort
After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to start the frame. Addison Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to hold at second and third base.
Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, came on in relief and induced a pop fly before Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to retire Barger, sealing the victory and earning Glasnow his first-ever save.
Next Up: Seventh Game
The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a single-season contract to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.
The Dodgers, aiming to become baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.
