Los Angeles Dodgers Survive in Toronto to Set Up Decisive Game 7 in World Series
The championship series is going to a decisive Game 7 following the Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams alive Friday night with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.
The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final twin killing, stunning a home audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the team's championship in over three decades.
Game 6 Recap
Los Angeles generated all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith doubled to left field to bring home Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-run single to left, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.
That key hit broke a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship victors since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.
Mound Battle
Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out six of the initial seven batters he confronted. He struck out eight through three frames, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six innings, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under stress. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second time in a week, giving up one run on five base hits over six innings 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 base hit in the third inning, driving in Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single provided a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.
Relief Heroics
From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. Rookie Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a two-base hit that became wedged under the outfield wall, forcing runners to stay at second and third.
Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in relief and got a pop fly before Giménez lined to left. Hernández caught the ball and threw to second base to double off the runner, clinching the victory and earning Glasnow his first-ever successful save.
Looking Ahead: Game 7
The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for Toronto, making him the sole active hurler to pitch in more than one World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.
The Los Angeles squad, looking to be the sport's initial repeat champions in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.