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This year's championship series is headed to a final Game 7 following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense dreams alive on Friday with a three to one win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic final twin killing, silencing a home audience that had come ready to cheer the team's championship in over three decades.

Sixth Game Recap

Los Angeles generated all of their offense in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Tommy Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' hopes of being the initial back-to-back championship victors since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He struck out eight through three innings, matching a Fall Classic mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six innings, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, giving up a single run on five base hits over six frames with six Ks. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out single in the third inning, scoring Addison Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. That single offered a momentary lift in his return to the lineup after sitting out two games with an side strain.

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen carried the load. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh inning, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth before hitting Kirk to open the inning. Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging runners to stay 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. Hernández made the catch and fired to second to double off the runner, sealing the win and giving the pitcher his first career successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the only living pitcher to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran signed a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to be the sport's first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are projected to lean on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.