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This year's World Series is headed to a decisive seventh game after the Dodgers kept alive their title defense dreams intact Friday night with a 3–1 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions halted Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling final twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had come ready to cheer the team's first title in 32 years.

Sixth Game Recap

The Dodgers generated all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Ohtani was intentionally walked before Smith hit a two-bagger to left to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and revived the title holders' hopes of being the initial back-to-back World Series winners since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 to 2000.

Pitching Battle

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He struck out 8 through three frames, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The righty outdueled Gausman for the second occasion in a week, allowing a single run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He improved to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, scoring Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Relief Effort

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the outfield wall, forcing 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 Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to double off the runner, clinching the win and earning the pitcher his first career successful save.

Next Up: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the sole active hurler to start more than one World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to chase another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, looking to become 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.