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The championship series is going to a decisive seventh game following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept alive their title defense hopes intact Friday night with a three to one victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6.

The defending champions ended Toronto’s late-game comeback with a dramatic final double play, stunning a Rogers Centre audience that had come ready to celebrate the team's championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Recap

Los Angeles generated all of their scoring in the third inning. With two outs, Ohtani was purposely passed before Will Smith doubled to left to bring home 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 snapped a postseason slump and revived the title holders' hopes of becoming the initial back-to-back championship victors since the New York Yankees won three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Battle

Kevin Gausman had been dominant to that stage, fanning six of the initial seven batters he confronted. He struck out eight through three innings, matching a World Series record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star ended with eight strikeouts over six innings, yielding three earned runs on three hits and two walks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, meanwhile, was steady again under pressure. The righty outpitched Gausman for the second time in a week, giving up one run on five base hits over six innings with six Ks. He boosted his record to four wins and one loss this postseason with a 1.56 ERA.

The only run against him came on George Springer two-out single in the third, scoring Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single provided a brief spark in his return to the lineup after sitting out a pair of contests with an oblique injury.

Bullpen Effort

After that, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Justin Wrobleski got out of a jam in the seventh, and fellow rookie Rōki Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before plunking Alejandro Kirk to open the inning. Addison Barger then hit a two-base hit that got stuck under the outfield wall, forcing runners to stay at second and third.

Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers' third game starter, entered in a relief role and induced a pop fly before Giménez lined to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and threw to second to retire the runner, clinching the win and giving Glasnow his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Seventh Game

The best-of-seven now boils down to a single contest. Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, making him the sole active hurler to start more than one World Series Game 7s after accomplishing that in 2019 with Washington. The 40-year-old signed a single-season contract to chase one more title and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Los Angeles squad, looking to be the sport's initial repeat title winners in almost 25 years, are expected to rely on their two-way star for a brief appearance.