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This year's championship series is headed to a final seventh game following the Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams alive on Friday with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling final double play, silencing a home audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's first title in over three decades.

Sixth Game Recap

Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and rekindled the title holders' hopes of being the first repeat championship winners since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six frames, yielding three runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under stress. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second time in a seven days, allowing a single run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He improved 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, scoring Addison Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. Springer’s hit provided a brief spark in his comeback to the starting nine after missing two games with an side strain.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Barger followed with a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to stay at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in a relief role and induced a popout before Giménez lined to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to double off Barger, clinching the win and giving Glasnow his first career successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The series now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, looking to be the sport's first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.