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This year's championship series is headed to a decisive Game 7 following the Los Angeles Dodgers kept their repeat hopes intact 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 game-ending twin killing, silencing a home audience that had arrived prepared to celebrate the team's championship in 32 years.

Game 6 Summary

Los Angeles generated all of their offense in the third frame. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani was purposely passed before Smith hit a two-bagger to left field to score Edman. Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases, and Mookie Betts came through with a two-RBI hit to the opposite field, giving the Dodgers a three-run lead.

Betts’ hit broke a postseason slump and rekindled the defending champions’ aspirations of being the initial back-to-back championship victors since the New York Yankees captured three consecutive from 1998 through 2000.

Mound Duel

Kevin Gausman had been nearly unhittable to that point, striking out six of the initial seven Dodgers he faced. He fanned eight through three innings, matching a Fall Classic record, but the third-inning barrage proved decisive. The Blue Jays' star finished with 8 Ks over six frames, allowing three runs on three hits and two free passes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in contrast, was solid again under stress. The righty outpitched his counterpart for the second occasion in a seven days, allowing a single run on five base hits over six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to four wins and one loss this playoffs with a 1.56 ERA.

The lone score against him resulted from George Springer two-out single in the third, driving in Addison Barger, who had doubled previously in the frame. That single provided a brief spark in his return to the starting nine after sitting out two games with an oblique injury.

Relief Heroics

From there, the Los Angeles relievers took over. Rookie Wrobleski escaped a jam in the seventh, and another rookie Sasaki worked into the ninth inning before hitting Alejandro Kirk to start the frame. Barger followed with a double that got stuck under the left-center-field fence, forcing base runners to hold at second and third base.

Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter, came on in a relief role and got a pop fly before Giménez hit a line drive to left. Enrique Hernández caught the ball and fired to second to retire Barger, clinching the victory and giving the pitcher his first-ever save.

Looking Ahead: Game 7

The best-of-seven now comes down to a single contest. Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays, becoming the only living pitcher to pitch in more than one World Series Game 7s after doing so in 2019 with Washington. The veteran signed a single-season contract to chase another championship and has been a outspoken presence throughout this postseason.

The Dodgers, aiming to become the sport's first back-to-back title winners in almost 25 years, are projected to rely on their two-way star for a short outing.