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This year's World Series is headed to a final seventh game after the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense dreams intact 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, silencing a Rogers Centre audience that had come ready to celebrate the city’s first title in 32 years.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith doubled to left field to bring home Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit snapped a playoff dry spell and rekindled the defending champions’ hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back championship winners since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.

Mound Duel

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that point, fanning six of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three frames, matching a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a seven days, giving up a single run on five hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third, driving in Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single provided a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after missing two games with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the frame. 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, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in a relief role and induced a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to double off the runner, sealing the win and giving the pitcher his first career save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to start more than one World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Dodgers, looking to become the sport's initial repeat champions in almost 25 years, are expected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.