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The World Series is going to a decisive Game 7 after the Dodgers kept their repeat dreams intact Friday night with a three to one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling final double play, silencing a Rogers Centre audience that had come ready to cheer the team's first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Recap

The Dodgers generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-run single to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ hopes of being the initial back-to-back championship victors since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He struck out eight through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace finished with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outdueled Gausman for the second occasion in a week, allowing a single run on five hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on Springer’s two-out base hit in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. That single offered a brief spark in his comeback to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Relief Effort

After that, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Barger followed with a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to stay at second and third.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starting pitcher, entered in a relief role and got a popout before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to double off the runner, clinching the victory and earning the pitcher his first career successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The series now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran signed a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, looking to be the sport's first back-to-back title winners in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.