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This year's World Series is going to a decisive Game 7 following the Dodgers kept alive their repeat dreams alive Friday night with a 3–1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending double play, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-run single to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the first repeat World Series victors since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, striking out six of the initial seven Dodgers 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 earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second time in a seven days, giving up 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 came on Springer’s two-out base hit in the third inning, driving in Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after missing two games with an oblique injury.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. Rookie Justin Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to hold at second and third base.

Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, came on in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to double off the runner, sealing the win and earning Glasnow his first-ever successful save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, making him the sole active hurler to start multiple World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to become 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.