Dodgers force World Series to deciding Game 7 by holding off Blue Jays 3-1 as Yamamoto wins again

By RONALD BLUMTORONTO AP A two-run lead was starting to slip away from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the ninth inning along with their chance to force the World Series to Encounter And then Kik Hern ndez turned what might have been a tying two-run single by Andr s Gim nez into the first game-ending left field-to-second base double play in postseason history The crazy thing is I had no idea where the ball was because it was in the lights the whole time Hern ndez announced after preserving a - win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Meeting on Friday night Instead of getting a World Series-winning three-run homer like the one Joe Carter hit off Philadelphia's Mitch Williams to capture the title in Championship in the Blue Jays were pushed to Event and the Dodgers kept alive their chance to become the first repeat champion since the - New York Yankees Max Scherzer will start Event for Toronto against a Dodgers pitcher still to be determined perhaps two-way star Shohei Ohtani perhaps Tyler Glasnow The October Classic will end in November for the th time It s the two best words in sports Challenge Toronto manager John Schneider mentioned Yoshinobu Yamamoto beat Toronto for the second time in a week by allowing one run in six innings and slumping Mookie Betts hit a two-run single in a three-run third against Kevin Gausman that included Will Smith's go-ahead single George Springer back after missing two games with a sore right side hit an RBI single in the bottom half and the Dodgers held that - lead going to the ninth Roki Sasaki hit Alejandro Kirk on the left wrist with an - splitter leading off and Addison Barger followed with a drive that landed at the base of the left-center wall and in a seldom-seen rarity lodged there instead of caroming back into play Both runners crossed the plate as plenty of in the Rogers Centre crowd initially thought Toronto had tied the championship but the rule book is clear that a ball lodged in a fence is a double The runners were placed at second and third and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts brought in Glasnow who was lined up to start Battle on normal rest I just felt that Roki wasn t as sharp and I just felt we needed specific swing-and-miss and Glasnow was the guy So I had him loose kind of looming Roberts reported Glasnow escaped with just three pitches Ernie Clement popped up his initial offering to first baseman Freddie Freeman Gim nez took a ball and hit the next feet to the opposite field in short left Hern ndez decided to play more shallow than the Dodgers instruction card called for He ran feet and while on the run made a catch that had only a probability then made a one-hop throw to second baseman Miguel Rojas that doubled up Barger For a split second as Glasnow threw the ball the crowd got quiet and I was able to hear that the bat broke Hern ndez stated So I just got a really good jump on the ball and I came in and halfway there the ball got in the lights And I was just like not the right time to stop to see where the ball is just keep going It s going to hit me in the face but I m not stopping Hern ndez remembered thinking I m not pulling up And at the very end the ball came out of the lights and went into my glove Barger had gotten about halfway to third before scrambling back and reached second base too late with his headfirst slide I was being too aggressive trying to figure try to tie that tournament if that ball drops Barger disclosed Even after the umpire signaled out players had to wait seconds for the call to be upheld by the replay room in New York Rojas had been inserted into the lineup for his first start since Oct in an effort by Roberts to spark the Dodgers' offense which is batting after winning with just four hits Pretty epic ending there Rojas disclosed Yamamoto was not quite as sharp as in his Challenge four-hitter the first World Series complete match in a decade Rookie reliever Justin Wrobleski struck out Gim nez to strand a runner at second in the seventh and Sasaki got out of a two-on one-out jam in the eighth when Bo Bichette fouled out and Daulton Varsho grounded out Then came the first game-ending double play in World Series history in which an outfielder had a putout or assist according to the Elias Sports Bureau Man we live for Competition so here we go Roberts explained Yamamoto winner of three MVP awards in Japan improved to - with a ERA in five postseason starts and has a ERA in his two Series outings Tommy Edman doubled with one out in the third for the Dodgers first hit Ohtani was intentionally walked for the fifth time in the Series and Smith hit an RBI double off the left-field wall on a high splitter Freeman walked bringing up Betts With Los Angeles seeking its third title in six seasons Roberts dropped the slumping Betts from second to third in the batting order in Encounter and then to fourth in Competition the lowest Betts had hit since Betts fell behind - in the count fouled off two pitches and laced Gausman s third straight fastball between shortstop and third for a - lead That ended an -for- stretch with the bases loaded for the Dodgers that dated to the Division Series He could hit me seventh I don t care I just want to win revealed Betts already a three-time champion Whatever we do however we get there I ll jump on whoever s back to go We all get a ring that s all I care about Up nextScherzer and Glasnow started Match won by the Dodgers - in innings A -year-old right-hander Scherzer will become the fourth pitcher to start multiple World Series winner-take-all Contest s after Bob Gibson Lew Burdette and Don Larsen both and Scherzer allowed two runs over five innings for Washington against Houston in and the Nationals rallied for a - win AP MLB https apnews com hub mlb