The Los Angeles Dodgers faced elimination after dropping two of three games at home to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 3-2 World Series lead. But the Dodgers won a do-or-die Game 6 on Friday, forcing a winner-take-all series finale.
The Dodgers will start Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 as Dave Roberts opted to give the ball to his best player with the season on the line. Ohtani last pitched in Game 4 on Tuesday and will take the mound in Toronto on four-days rest.
Roberts acknowledged that he doesn’t know how much he’ll get out of the reigning MVP in Game 7. However, the Dodgers’ manager will “read and react” to Ohtani, per the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris. The team will “let him run as long as he can” in the final game of the 2025 season.
Yamamoto is ready for Game 7 after starting Game 6
Incredibly, Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be available for Game 7 after throwing 96 pitches the previous night. The second-year hurler tossed back-to-back complete games before only lasting six innings in Game 6. Nonetheless, he picked up the win as LA’s bullpen held a 3-1 lead.
Yamamoto has been the Dodgers’ most reliable starter in the playoffs. He’s allowed one or fewer runs in four of his five postseason starts. After Game 6 he said he'd be ready for the series finale if called upon. Harris reports that Yamamoto is “playing catch rn to see how he feels.”
While Roberts’ ace is willing to pitch in an all-hands-on-deck game, Tyler Glasnow is more likely to get some work behind Ohtani. Glasnow started Game 3, throwing 85 pitches in 4.2 innings of work. He allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks in the outing.
Glasnow was the surprise hero of Game 6. The Blue Jays brought the winning run to the plate with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Roberts pulled newly anointed closer Roki Sasaki in favor of Glasnow and the 10th-year veteran worked out of the jam, earning his first-career save.
Glasnow only needed three pitches to close out Game 6. So he should be able to give the Dodgers multiple innings in the World Series finale Saturday.
