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This year's World Series is headed to a decisive Game 7 after the Dodgers kept alive their title defense hopes intact Friday night with a three to one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending double play, stunning a home crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's championship in over three decades.

Sixth Game Summary

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

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ hopes of being the first repeat World Series victors since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three frames, matching a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second time in a week, giving up one run on five base hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit provided a brief spark in his comeback to the starting nine after missing a pair of contests with an side strain.

Bullpen Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth before hitting Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger followed with a two-base hit that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging runners to stay at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, entered in a relief role and got a popout before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to double off Barger, clinching the victory and earning the pitcher his first career save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, becoming the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in 2019 with Washington. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to be the sport's first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.