The World Series is headed to a decisive Game 7 following the Dodgers kept alive their title defense hopes alive on Friday with a three to one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.
The reigning title holders ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, stunning a Rogers Centre crowd that had arrived prepared to cheer the city’s championship in over three decades.
Los Angeles produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to bring home Edman. Freeman drew a walk to fill the bases, and Betts came through with a two-run single to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a three-run lead.
Betts’ hit broke a playoff dry spell and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship victors since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 through 2000.
Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, fanning half a dozen of the initial seven Dodgers he confronted. He fanned 8 through three innings, matching a World Series record, but the third-frame rally proved costly. The Toronto ace finished with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three earned runs on three safeties and two free passes.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under stress. The righty outdueled Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up a single run on five hits over six frames with six strikeouts. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.
The lone score against him resulted from Springer’s two-out base hit in the third inning, scoring Barger, who had hit a double previously in the frame. Springer’s hit provided a momentary lift in his return to the starting nine after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.
From there, the Dodgers’ bullpen took over. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski escaped a tight spot in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before plunking Kirk to start the inning. Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to hold at second and third base.
Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starting pitcher, came on in a relief role and got a pop fly before Andrés Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández made the catch and threw to second to retire the runner, clinching the victory and giving the pitcher his first-ever save.
The series now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the sole active hurler to start multiple World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old signed a one-year deal to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this playoff run.
The Los Angeles squad, looking to be baseball’s first back-to-back title winners in nearly a quarter-century, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.
Elara is a financial strategist with over a decade of experience in wealth management and entrepreneurship.
