Dodgers win World Series Game 6 2025

TORONTO — Theyâ€ve seen a Game 6 ball sail skyward in the bottom of the ninth in this building. Theyâ€ve seen a comeback that results in Toronto title triumph.

But unlike the Joe Carter blast that cleared the wall for the Blue Jays back in 1993, the ball that could have altered the outcome of Game 6 on Friday night instead lodged at the wallâ€s base.

This ball was ruled dead.

And now the Dodgers — and the World Series itself — are still alive.

Game 7 at Rogers Centre looms Saturday night after a great Game 6 with a highly unusual ending. Though the Blue Jays mounted a comeback attempt in their last at-bat, the dead-ball call on Addison Bargerâ€s ground-rule double helped thwart it, a double play in which Barger got caught off the second-base bag ended it, and the Dodgers held on for a tension-packed, 3-1 victory at Rogers Centre.

And so this wonderful World Series, which has already seen the evenly matched Dodgers and Blue Jays torment each other in an 18-inning affair, will conclude with the first Game 7 in the Fall Classic since 2019 (Nationals over Astros).

“It’s been a heck of a series,†said Dodgers left fielder Kiké Hernández, whose instincts allowed for the game-ending double play. “Why not play a Game 7?â€

Howâ€s that for a capper?

Though Blue Jays fans packed Rogers Centre on Friday night in anticipation of something much better than a Halloween party, the Dodgers clearly werenâ€t ready to let go of the Commissionerâ€s Trophy.

The Dodgers thwarted a Canadian coronation with the help of another superb start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a needed knock from the struggling Mookie Betts and, ultimately, some good, old-fashioned luck in a nail-biting ninth.

Letâ€s start with the ending, because youâ€ve probably never seen anything like it.

Trailing by two and facing rookie closer Roki Sasaki, a Blue Jays team that led MLB in comeback wins this year had a chance at yet another one when leadoff man Alejandro Kirk was plunked by a pitch and replaced by pinch-runner Myles Straw.

Barger then lifted Sasakiâ€s 2-2 offering deep to center. Suddenly, there was movement everywhere. Straw rounding second, Barger rounding first, center fielder Justin Dean on his horse.

Except for the ball. It landed at the base of the wall and just… stopped, partially lodged under the padding.

“Been here a long time,†Jays manager John Schneider said. “I haven’t seen a ball get lodged ever. Just caught a tough break there.â€

Dean immediately raised his arms, requesting a dead-ball call. It was a risky move under the circumstances, as Straw and Barger both raced home and the home crowd loudly cheered what it thought were the tying runs.

But the ball was indeed ruled dead on the spot, and a replay review upheld the decision.

The Rogers Centre ground rules call for fair balls lodged in the padding to result in a ground-rule double. So Barger had to head back to second and Straw to third.

“As the rule is current, you want to play that ball, actually, and you can go back and replay the lodged ball,†Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But [Dean] still was aware of it being lodged, and then the outfield umpire kind of blew it dead as well. So it worked out great, but certainly good awareness [by Dean].â€

Roberts then brought in Tyler Glasnow, who had been expected to be the Dodgers†potential Game 7 starter.

One out later, Andrés Giménez lined out to left, and Hernández smartly fired to second to catch Barger off the bag for a game-ending double play that elicited a loud groan from the crowd as the Dodgers celebrated on the field.

“I tried to not throw the ball hard, because I was coming in full speed, and I was really close to second base,†Hernández said. “I thought I long-hopped [second baseman Miguel Rojas], but I gave him a really hard throw to catch, and I think it was a better pick [by Rojas] than it was a play on my end.â€

That abnormal ending had been preceded by something weâ€ve grown accustomed to in this postseason — a terrific start from Yamamoto.

Though he didnâ€t go the distance, as he had done in his two previous starts (including Game 2 of this World Series), Yamamoto was plenty effective in six innings in which he allowed just a run on five hits with a walk and six strikeouts.

The Blue Jays got a run off him when the ailing George Springer, re-inserted into the leadoff spot after missing Games 4 and 5 with an injured right side, punched an RBI single to center in the bottom of the third. But otherwise, Yamamoto and his kitchen-sink arsenal kept coming through with big outs — none bigger than when he struck out Daulton Varsho with two out and two aboard to end his final inning of work.

“The most important part was to protect our lead,†he said through an interpreter, “and then pass it to the guys coming behind me.â€

The lead had been built in a single inning — the top of the third.

Though Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman had begun the ballgame by striking out five of the first six batters he faced, with whiffs on 11 of his trusty splitters, the struggling Dodger bats awoke. There were two out in the third, with Tommy Edman aboard via a double. With first base open, the Blue Jays intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani for the fifth time in this World Series.

“If there is an obvious chance, take the bat out of his hands, yeah, we’re going to do it,†Schneider said of that move. “Again, man, they have really good hitters up and down their lineup, so you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t sometimes. You’re always playing with fire with the caliber of Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts. So you take your chances, putting some extra traffic on there, but you take your chances with Kev.â€

Smith made them pay with a double down the left-field line that scored Edman and moved Ohtani to third.

Now, it was the struggling Betts at the plate. He had gone just 6-for-42 with eight strikeouts in his previous eight games — a stone-cold stretch for the future Hall of Famer. But when Gausman threw Betts three straight heaters, Mookie punched the third one to left for the slump-busting single that brought home a pair and made it 3-0, Dodgers.

“It felt great to come through for the boys,†Betts said. “Obviously I would love to play well for myself. But thatâ€s kind of irrelevant. I want to play well for the boys.â€

That three-run inning was the largest for the Dodgers in this World Series.

And as it turns out, it was enough.

Even without Yamamoto going nine, the Dodgers managed to get nine outs from their iffy bullpen, with Justin Wrobleski earning the hold in the seventh and Sasaki pitching a shaky but effective shutout eighth prior to the notorious ninth.

So now itâ€s on to Game 7, in a matchup in which neither club has been able to satisfactorily separate from the other. Turns out, the ball that Barger hit played a major role in Game 6. It stopped so that the World Series could keep going.

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