LA Dodgers Hold On in Toronto to Force Decisive Game 7 in Fall Classic
This year's championship series is headed to a decisive Game 7 following the Dodgers kept alive their repeat hopes intact Friday night with a 3–1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.
The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a thrilling game-ending twin killing, silencing a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to celebrate the city’s championship in 32 years.
Game 6 Recap
Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third frame. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left to score Tommy Edman. Freddie Freeman earned a base on balls to fill the bases, and Mookie Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 advantage.
Betts’ hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' aspirations of being the first repeat championship victors since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.
Pitching Battle
Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning half a dozen of the first seven batters he confronted. He struck out eight through three innings, matching a World Series mark, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Toronto ace ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three earned runs on three hits and two walks.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under stress. The righty outdueled his counterpart for the second time in a week, giving up one run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to 4–1 this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.
The only run against him came on George Springer two-out base hit in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had hit a double earlier in the inning. That single offered a momentary lift in his return to the starting nine after missing two games with an side strain.
Bullpen Effort
From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Kirk to open the frame. Barger followed with a double that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to hold at second and third.
Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, entered in a relief role and got a popout before Giménez hit a line drive to left field. Hernández made the catch and threw to second to double off Barger, clinching the victory and giving Glasnow his first career save.
Looking Ahead: Seventh Game
The best-of-seven now boils down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for Toronto, becoming the sole active hurler to start more than one World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old inked a one-year deal to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this postseason.
The Dodgers, aiming to become baseball’s initial repeat title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a brief appearance.