CanadaWith a chance to clinch the title in Game 6 on Friday at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays instead fell 3-1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, setting up a decisive final contest that will begin less than 24 hours after a wild play ended this game.3-run rally in 3rd inning was enough offence for the DodgersMyles Dichter · CBC Sports · Posted: Oct 31, 2025 11:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesA despondent Addison Barger, left, looks on as Miguel Rojas (72), Enrique Hernández (8) and Mookie Betts (50) of the L.A. Dodgers celebrate their win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 6 of the 2025 World Series on Friday. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)The Toronto Blue Jays had their chances. They didn’t capitalize.Now, they have just one more: Game 7 of the World Series in Toronto on Saturday.With a chance to clinch the title in Game 6 on Friday at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays instead fell 3-1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, setting up a decisive final contest that will begin less than 24 hours after a wild play ended this game.One clash for all the marbles — between the defending champion Dodgers, billed Goliath by some, and the plucky Blue Jays, who just kept finding a way — will determine the 2025 MLB champion.“It’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be three or four or five hours of mayhem and great baseball. But these guys are going to be ready for it,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after Game 6.Missed chancesOn Friday a three-run rally in the third inning was enough offence for the Dodgers, who, as in Game 2, let ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto do the rest.Yamamoto didn’t pull off a third straight complete game, but he did go six strong, allowing just one run while spreading five hits and striking out six. He said he was a little more careful in his pitch selection in this outing.“I think I did a good job,” Yamamoto said through his translator.Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto in action against the Blue Jays during the first inning of Game 6 in Toronto on Friday. (Brynn Anderson/The Associated Press)Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are left ruing missed chances — including in the ninth inning, when a pair of strange plays kept them from scoring.First, an Addison Barger drive to the gap lodged under the left-centre field wall, leading to a ground-rule double on a play in which both Barger and Myles Straw, pinch-running for Alejandro Kirk after a hit-by-pitch at first base, raced around the bases to score — only to be sent back.Then, Barger was picked off second base after an Andrés Giménez lineout to left.And suddenly, Rogers Centre went from anticipatory jubilation to disbelief.L.A.’s Miguel Rojas forces Toronto’s Addison Barger out at second base to end Game 6 on Friday. (Brynn Anderson/The Associated Press)“Been here a long time, haven’t seen a ball get lodged, ever,” Schneider said. “Caught a tough break there. He put a really good swing on that pitch. Ultimately we had second and third with none out and guys who make contact and just didn’t get it done.”WATCH | Schneider rues ‘tough break’ of lodged ball in 9th inning:Jays manager reacts to ground-rule doubleWhen Barger’s ball was lodged into the fence in left-centre field, the outfield ump immediately signalled with two fingers for a ground-rule double. That hit put runners on second and third base but the Jays were unable to score in the 9th inning. Still, the Jays have a prime opportunity to walk off this World Series in Game 7 on Saturday.An inning earlier, the Blue Jays put runners at first and second with one out, only to see that potential rally fizzle in the bats of Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho.In the sixth inning, with Yamamoto seemingly on the ropes and nearing the end of his outing, Varsho stepped to the plate with two on and two out, but went down on strikes.Missed opportunity after missed opportunity defined the Blue Jays in this game, who scattered eight hits over nine innings while watching the Dodgers bunch three of their four hits in one frame.George Springer dodges an inside pitch in the eighth inning on Friday. (Ashley Landis/The Associated Press)“I always like our chances whether you start with a hit by pitch, hit, walk, whatever, you kind of like the way that was unfolding, but it just didn’t work out tonight,” Schneider said. “Baseball happens sometimes.”Ohtani’s impactIn the middle of L.A.’s brief offensive outburst was, of course, Shohei Ohtani.The two-way superstar stepped to the plate with two out and a man on second in the third inning. Schneider flashed four fingers and sent Ohtani to first, choosing instead to set up Gausman for a battle with two-hole hitter Will Smith.Smith made the Blue Jays pay. He doubled into the left-field gap, scoring the runner from second. Then, after a walk of Freddie Freeman, struggling ex-MVP Mookie Betts finally came through in a big moment, knocking a single into left field to cash both Ohtani and Smith.Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a double during the eighth inning of Game 6 on Friday. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)“That’s something we talked about before the series: if there was an obvious chance to take the bat out of [Ohtani’s] hands, yeah, we’re gonna do it,” Schneider said. “Again, they have really good hitters up and down their lineup, so you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t sometimes.” The rally was Gausman’s lone blemish on the night. He didn’t allow a hit or a walk in his other five innings, efficiently mowing down the Dodgers lineup.But he lost it briefly, and it was enough to cost his team as its bats went silent.’Wild, wild way to finish it’ In that fateful final frame, Barger took the bat out of George Springer’s hands in the on-deck circle — one last costly mistake in a game of them.“It’s a tough play, it’s such a tweener. … But wild, wild way to finish it for sure,” Schneider said.Wild today, of course, could look downright normal tomorrow, because in Game 7, everything is on the table.“It’s all hands on deck. Shohei is going to pitch, I just don’t know when,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told MLB Network.Kevin Gausman throws a pitch during the first inning of Game 6. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)For the Blue Jays, too, everyone will be available. Schneider even refused to rule out Gausman, despite his 93 pitches tonight.Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer will start on the mound for the Blue Jays. His stuff may be diminished from his prime; his intensity, however, sure isn’t.That should feed throughout the team.“These guys are really good at just turning the page … They’re gonna be ready to play tomorrow. Everybody’s gonna be ready to play,” Schneider said. One last shot at glory.
Dodgers force a World Series winner-take-all after defeating Blue Jays 3-1 in Game 6
