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The World Series is going to a final Game 7 following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their title defense hopes intact on Friday with a three to one win over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, stunning a home audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s first title in over three decades.

Sixth Game Summary

The Dodgers produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left field to bring home Tommy Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

That key hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the first seven batters he faced. He fanned 8 through three frames, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Toronto ace finished with eight strikeouts over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under pressure. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second time in a seven days, giving up a single 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 lone score against him came on George Springer two-out single in the third inning, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single provided a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an side strain.

Bullpen Heroics

After that, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. Rookie Justin Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before hitting Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to stay at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starter, entered in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to retire Barger, clinching the victory and giving the pitcher his first-ever successful save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The series now boils down to one game. Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, making him the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one seventh games of the World Series after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a single-season contract to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to be baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to lean on their two-way star for a brief appearance.