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This year's championship series is going to a decisive seventh game following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams alive on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, silencing a home crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's championship in 32 years.

Sixth Game Summary

The Dodgers generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a three-run lead.

Betts’ hit snapped a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' hopes of being the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He struck out eight through three innings, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star finished with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, giving up a single run on five 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 resulted from Springer’s two-out single in the third, driving in Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit offered a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out two games with an side strain.

Relief Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Addison Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the outfield wall, forcing runners to hold at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, entered in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to double off the runner, sealing the victory and giving Glasnow his first career successful save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The veteran inked a one-year deal to pursue another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to become the sport's initial repeat title winners in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.