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This year's World Series is headed to a decisive Game 7 after the Dodgers kept their title defense hopes alive on Friday with a three to one win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling final double play, stunning a Rogers Centre audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s first title in 32 years.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to bring home Edman. Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, handing the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of being the initial back-to-back championship victors since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He struck out eight through three innings, tying a Fall Classic mark, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks.

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

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out single in the third, scoring Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single offered a brief spark in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Relief Effort

After that, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to stay at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starting pitcher, entered in a relief role and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second to retire the runner, clinching the win and earning the pitcher his first career save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The series now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will start 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 veteran signed a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to become the sport's first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are expected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.