This year's championship series is headed to a final seventh game following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams intact on Friday with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.
The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, silencing a home audience that had come ready to cheer the team's first title in over three decades.
Game 6 Recap
Los Angeles generated all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith doubled to left to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.
Betts’ hit broke a playoff dry spell and revived the defending champions’ hopes of being the initial back-to-back World Series victors since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.
Pitching Duel
Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out half a dozen of the first seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned 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 runs on three hits and two walks.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up one run on five hits over six innings 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 base hit in the third inning, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. Springer’s hit provided a brief spark in his return to the lineup after missing a pair of contests with an side strain.
Bullpen Heroics
From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Barger followed with a two-base hit that became wedged under the outfield wall, obliging runners to stay at second and third.
Glasnow, the Dodgers' Game 3 starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to double off the runner, sealing the win and giving Glasnow 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 Toronto, making him the sole active hurler to start more than one seventh games of the World Series after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The veteran signed a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.
The Los Angeles squad, aiming to become baseball’s initial repeat title winners in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.
