Los Angeles Dodgers Hold On in Canada to Force Winner-Take-All Game 7 in World Series

This year's championship series is going to a decisive Game 7 after the Dodgers kept alive their repeat hopes alive Friday night with a three to one win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The reigning title holders halted Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic final twin killing, stunning a home crowd that had come ready to cheer the team's championship in over three decades.

Game 6 Recap

Los Angeles produced all of their offense in the third inning. With two away, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Tommy Edman. Freeman earned a base on balls to load the bases, and Betts delivered with a two-RBI hit to left, handing the Dodgers a 3–0 lead.

That key hit snapped a postseason slump and revived the defending champions’ hopes of being the first repeat World Series victors since the Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been dominant to that point, striking out half a dozen of the initial seven Dodgers he confronted. He fanned 8 through three innings, tying a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star finished with eight strikeouts over six frames, yielding three earned runs on three safeties and two walks.

Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched Gausman for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing a single run on five base hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out base hit in the third inning, driving in Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit provided a brief spark in his comeback to the starting nine after missing two games with an side strain.

Bullpen Heroics

From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and fellow rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth before plunking Alejandro Kirk to start the inning. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, obliging runners to hold at second and third.

Glasnow, Los Angeles’ third game starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez hit a line drive to left. Hernández caught the ball and fired to second base to retire Barger, clinching the victory and earning Glasnow his first career save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The series now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the sole active hurler to start multiple seventh games of the World Series after doing so in the 2019 season with the Nationals. The veteran inked a single-season contract to pursue another championship and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to become the sport's first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are projected to rely on their two-way star for a short outing.

Omar Wheeler
Omar Wheeler

Elara is a historian and writer with a passion for uncovering forgotten stories from ancient civilizations.