🔗 Share this article LA Dodgers Survive in Canada to Force Decisive Game 7 in World Series The championship series is going to a decisive Game 7 following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense hopes intact Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Blue Jays in Game 6. The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a thrilling game-ending double play, silencing a home crowd that had come ready to cheer the city’s first title in 32 years. Game 6 Recap The Dodgers generated all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked before Will Smith doubled to left field to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Mookie 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 revived the title holders' aspirations of becoming the first repeat World Series winners since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000. Pitching Battle Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, fanning six of the initial seven batters he confronted. He struck out 8 through three frames, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with 8 Ks over six innings, yielding three runs on three safeties and two free passes. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was solid again under pressure. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a week, allowing a single run on five base hits over six frames with six Ks. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA. The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, scoring Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single provided a momentary lift in his return to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an oblique injury. Relief 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 inning before hitting Kirk to open the frame. Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing runners to stay at second and third base. Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starting pitcher, came on in relief and induced a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second base to double off Barger, sealing the win and giving the pitcher his first-ever successful save. Looking Ahead: Seventh Game The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to pitch in multiple seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in the 2019 season with Washington. The veteran signed a single-season contract to pursue one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason. The Los Angeles squad, looking to be the sport's initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.