For the first time in six years, we will have a Game 7 in the World Series. With their backs against the wall, the Dodgers held the line, Yoshinobu Yamamoto earning the win and allowing his bullpen to get
in on the fun this time around. A tense contest culminated with a thrilling finish, the Blue Jays missing a number of chances to clinch their first title in 33 years, and now, it all comes down to one game.
World Series Game 6
Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Toronto Blue Jays 1
(Series tied, 3-3)
Game 6 was a textbook example of how baseball can provide riveting drama during stretches of play that include literally no scoring. The starters, Yamamoto and Kevin Gausman, were damaged early but stabilized, and the game concluded with a run of six scoreless innings from both sides. The whole affair was breathless nonetheless.
Gausman set a tone in the first, striking out the first three Dodgers to come to the plate. Each at-bat ended with a nasty splitter:
The right-hander looked in full command, retiring seven in a row to start, five via strikeout. But the Dodgers came to life in a flash in the third. With one down, Tommy Edman jumped on a first-pitch fastball and roped a double to right. Gausman bounced back to rack up another strikeout, this one of Miguel Rojas, but after an intentional walk of Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith opened the scoring with an RBI double to left:
Still with two out, Gausman walked Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts at last introduced himself in this World Series. Betts came up with a huge single to left, scoring two and giving Los Angeles a 3-0 lead, their largest advantage in the series since Game 2:
The Blue Jays responded quickly, Addison Barger doubling to lead off the bottom of the third, then advancing on a groundout. With two down, George Springer, looking OK after missing two games with an injury, singled Barger home to make it 3-1:
And there the score would stay, the tension ramping up with every passing inning. The Jays never went down quietly, Yamamoto working effectively but never completely smoothly. Yamamoto worked around a one-out single in the fourth, a two-out single in the fifth, then facing a real jam in the sixth. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubled with two down, and Bo Bichette walked to put the tying run on. Yamamoto battled Daulton Varsho, and struck him out swinging on an excellent splitter:
The tension continued building. Dave Roberts went to Justin Wrobleski in the seventh, desperate to build some sort of bridge to the end of the game. Wrobleski allowed a two-out double to Ernie Clement, but struck out Andrés Giménez to end the inning.
The game looked on the precipice of exploding in the eighth, but again the pitchers on both sides kept a lid on things. Louie Varland came on and ran into trouble, allowing a double to Ohtani before intentionally walking Smith. Varland retired Freeman, and John Schneider went to Seranthony Domínguez with two down. Domínguez walked Betts to load the bases, but struck out Teoscar Hernández to extinguish the Dodgers’ biggest threat since the third:
Having survived to the eighth, Roberts went right to Roki Sosaki, asking his converted closer to get six outs and extend LA’s season. It was nervy in the eighth for Sasaki, the rookie giving up a leadoff single to Springer and walking Guerrero with one down to put the tying run on, but Sasaki bounced back to get the next two and send it to the ninth.
Sasaki would not see it through. Ahead 0-2 on Alejandro Kirk leading off the inning, Sasaki uncorked a disastrous splitter, hitting Kirk in the hand (Kirk would exit the game). Addison Barger then unloaded on a Sasaki fastball, blasting a double to the wall. But the Jays were unlucky; the ball wedged itself at the bottom of the wall, and Barger and pinch-runner Myles Straw were placed at second and third with none out.
Roberts pulled no punches. In came Tyler Glasnow, originally the scheduled starter for Game 7. The Dodgers would risk it all, understandably, with their season on the line.
Glasnow threw a first-pitch fastball to Ernie Clement, who swung and popped it up on the infield. One down. Up came Giménez , who laid off a curveball, then squared up a fastball on the outer part of the plate. But Giménez didn’t hit the ball very hard, the line drive hanging up for Kiké Hernández to snare:
Barger didn’t hold up on the line drive and Hernández fired back into second to double up the runner. The game was over, Glasnow saving the Dodgers on three pitches.
It was one of the most shocking finishes to a World Series game in recent memory. The Jays’ aggressiveness, their calling card through what’s been a surprising, magical year, backfired at the worst possible time. Their hitters swung out of their shoes at tough pitches at a moment when the Dodgers had no margin for error, before Barger committed a massive blunder on the bases to end the game.
Now, the stage is set for a dramatic Game 7. Roberts made a bold gamble in bringing in his Game 7 starter to finish Game 6, but it couldn’t have worked out better, Glasnow hardly breaking a sweat. The Dodgers can now look to use some combination of Ohtani and Glasnow for the bulk of tonight’s innings. On the other side, the Blue Jays will likely start Max Scherzer in what will ultimately be an all-hand-on-deck matchup. It is sure to be a scintillating finish to this 2025 season.
