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The championship series is going to a decisive Game 7 after the Dodgers kept their repeat hopes intact Friday night with a three to one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s ninth-inning rally with a dramatic final double play, stunning a home crowd that had come ready to cheer the team's championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Recap

The Dodgers produced all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith doubled to left field to score Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-run single to left, giving the Dodgers a three-run advantage.

That key hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the title holders' aspirations of becoming the first repeat championship victors since the Yankees captured three straight from 1998 through 2000.

Pitching Duel

Gausman had been dominant to that stage, striking out half a dozen of the initial seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned 8 through three innings, tying a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved costly. The Blue Jays' star ended with 8 Ks over six innings, yielding three runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was steady again under pressure. The 27-year-old right-hander outpitched his counterpart for the second time in a seven days, giving up a single run on five hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him came on Springer’s two-out base hit in the third, scoring Addison Barger, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Springer’s hit offered a momentary lift in his comeback to the lineup after sitting out two games with an oblique injury.

Relief Effort

From there, the Los Angeles relievers carried the load. First-year pitcher Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki pitched into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Barger then hit a two-base hit that became wedged under the left-center-field fence, obliging base runners to hold at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starting pitcher, entered in a relief role and got a popout before Andrés Giménez lined to left field. Hernández made the catch and fired to second to double off the runner, sealing the victory and giving the pitcher his first career save.

Next Up: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now comes down to one game. Max Scherzer will take the mound for the Blue Jays, becoming the only living pitcher to start multiple World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with the Nationals. The 40-year-old inked a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a vocal leader throughout this playoff run.

The Los Angeles squad, aiming to be the sport's first back-to-back champions in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on Shohei Ohtani for a short outing.