LA Dodgers Survive in Canada to Force Winner-Take-All Game 7 in Fall Classic

This year's championship series is headed to a decisive Game 7 following the Dodgers kept their repeat dreams alive Friday night with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, stunning a home crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s first title in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith doubled to left to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of being the first repeat championship winners since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He struck out eight through three innings, tying a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a seven days, giving up a single 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 only run against him came on Springer’s two-out base hit in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. That single provided a momentary lift in his return to the lineup after sitting out two games with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before plunking Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a double that became wedged under the outfield wall, forcing runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in relief and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left. Hernández made the catch and fired to second to double off the runner, sealing the victory and earning the pitcher his first career save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the only living pitcher to start multiple World Series Game 7s 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 playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to be baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.