LA Dodgers Survive in Canada to Set Up Decisive Game 7 in World Series
This year's World Series is going to a final Game 7 after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense dreams intact Friday night with a three to one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.
The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic game-ending twin killing, stunning a home audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s championship in 32 years.
Sixth Game Summary
The Dodgers generated all of their scoring in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.
That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of being the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.
Mound Battle
Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out half a dozen of the initial seven batters he faced. He struck out eight through three innings, tying a Fall Classic mark, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six frames, yielding three runs on three safeties and two free passes.
Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up a single run on five hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.
The only run against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, scoring Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single offered a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after missing two games with an oblique injury.
Relief Heroics
After that, the Los Angeles relievers 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 plunking Kirk to start the inning. Barger then hit a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to hold at second and third.
Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, came on in a relief role and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández caught the ball and threw to second base to retire the runner, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first-ever save.
Next Up: Game 7
The series now boils down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, becoming the sole active hurler to pitch in multiple World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran inked a one-year deal to chase one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.
The Los Angeles squad, aiming to be baseball’s initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.