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This year's World Series is headed to a final Game 7 following the Dodgers kept their title defense hopes alive on Friday with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending twin killing, silencing a home crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s first title in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.

That key hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' hopes of being the initial back-to-back championship winners since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He struck out 8 through three frames, matching a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with 8 Ks over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing a single run on five base hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out single in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single offered a momentary lift in his return to the starting nine after missing two games with an oblique injury.

Relief Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing runners to hold at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starter, entered in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Hernández made the catch and threw to second to retire Barger, clinching the victory and earning the pitcher his first career successful save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the sole active hurler to pitch in multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran signed a single-season contract to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.

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