LA Dodgers Hold On in Canada to Set Up Winner-Take-All Game 7 in Fall Classic
The championship series is headed to a final Game 7 after the Dodgers kept alive their title defense hopes alive on Friday with a 3–1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.
The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final twin killing, silencing a home audience that had come ready to celebrate the team's first title in over three decades.
Game 6 Recap
Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left to bring home Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.
Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of being the first repeat World Series victors since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.
Mound Battle
Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning half a dozen of the initial seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three frames, tying a Fall Classic mark, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star finished with 8 Ks over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.
Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, allowing one run on five hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.
The only run against him came on George Springer two-out single in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the starting nine after missing a pair of contests with an oblique injury.
Bullpen Heroics
From there, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. Rookie Wrobleski got out of a tight spot in the seventh inning, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the outfield wall, obliging base runners to hold at second and third.
Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Enrique Hernández made the catch and threw to second base to retire the runner, clinching the victory and earning Glasnow his first-ever save.
Next Up: Game 7
The series now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran signed a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.
The Los Angeles squad, aiming to become baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in almost 25 years, are expected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.