Los Angeles Dodgers Hold On in Toronto to Set Up Winner-Take-All Game 7 in Fall Classic
The World Series is headed to a final seventh game after the Dodgers kept alive their repeat dreams intact on Friday with a three to one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.
The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic game-ending double play, silencing a home audience that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s championship in 32 years.
Sixth Game Summary
The Dodgers generated all of their offense in the third inning. With two outs, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.
That key hit broke a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ aspirations of becoming the first repeat World Series winners since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.
Pitching Battle
Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that stage, fanning six of the first seven Dodgers he confronted. He struck out 8 through three innings, tying a World Series mark, but the third-frame rally proved decisive. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three runs on three hits and two walks.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a week, allowing one run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.
The only run against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. That single offered a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an oblique injury.
Bullpen Heroics
After that, the Los Angeles relievers took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh inning, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth before hitting Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger then hit a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to stay at second and third.
Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in relief and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to retire the runner, sealing the win and giving the pitcher his first career successful save.
Next Up: Game 7
The best-of-seven 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 multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The veteran inked a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.
The Dodgers, looking to be baseball’s initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on their two-way star for a short outing.