This year's World Series is going to a final Game 7 after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their repeat dreams alive Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.
The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, stunning a home audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's first title in over three decades.
Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Tommy Edman. Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.
Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of becoming the first repeat World Series victors since the New York Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.
Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out six of the initial seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three runs on three hits and two free passes.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled his counterpart for the second time in a week, giving up one 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 came on George Springer two-out single in the third, scoring Addison Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. Springer’s hit provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an side strain.
From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh inning, and fellow rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to open the inning. Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging runners to stay at second and third.
Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starter, came on in a relief role and induced a popout before Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to double off Barger, sealing the win and giving Glasnow his first career successful save.
The series now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in 2019 with Washington. 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 be the sport's initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.
