LA Dodgers Survive in Canada to Force Decisive Game 7 in Fall Classic
The championship series is headed to a decisive seventh game after the Dodgers kept their repeat hopes intact on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.
The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending double play, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's first title in over three decades.
Sixth Game Recap
The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two away, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith doubled to left to score Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.
Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ hopes of being the first repeat championship victors since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.
Mound Battle
Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned eight through three frames, matching a World Series mark, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three hits and two walks.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. 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 four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.
The only run against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, scoring Addison Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.
Relief Heroics
After that, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Addison Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to hold at second and third base.
Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, entered in a relief role and got a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández made the catch and threw to second to double off Barger, clinching the victory and earning Glasnow his first career save.
Looking Ahead: Game 7
The series now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the only living pitcher to pitch in multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with Washington. The veteran inked a one-year deal to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence 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 lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.