LA Dodgers Survive in Toronto to Force Decisive Game 7 in World Series
This year's World Series is going to a decisive seventh game following the Dodgers kept alive their repeat dreams intact on Friday with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.
The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling final double play, stunning a home audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s championship in over three decades.
Sixth Game Summary
Los Angeles generated all of their scoring in the third frame. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.
That key hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of being the first repeat championship winners since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.
Mound Battle
Gausman had been dominant to that point, fanning half a dozen of the initial seven batters he confronted. He fanned eight through three innings, matching a Fall Classic mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace finished with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a week, giving up a single run on five base hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to 4–1 this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.
The only run against him came on Springer’s two-out single in the third, scoring Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single provided a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out two games with an side strain.
Bullpen Heroics
From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. First-year pitcher Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Addison Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging runners to hold at second and third.
Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in a relief role and got a popout before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández made the catch and threw to second to double off the runner, sealing the win and giving the pitcher his first career successful save.
Next Up: Seventh Game
The series now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the sole active hurler to pitch in more than one World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to pursue one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.
The Dodgers, looking to become the sport's first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.