TORONTO — With everything on the line Saturday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers plan to start Shohei Ohtani on short rest in Game 7. A final decision had not been made as of late Friday night, but the team is leaning in that direction.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in a news conference after his team’s 3-1, season-saving win in Game 6 that every pitcher except Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be available.

That includes Tyler Glasnow, who was lined up to start Game 7 but came out of the bullpen to record the final three outs in Friday’s Game 6. It includes Roki Sasaki, who faced seven batters. And it includes Ohtani, whose easiest path to pitching has always been to open the game, rather than coming out of the bullpen.

Ohtani pitched six innings and threw 93 pitches in Game 4 and would be taking the mound on three days’ rest. Ohtani has previously made one start on three days’ rest, but that was after completing only two innings in a prior start in 2023. Every other major league start for Ohtani has come on five or six days’ rest.

Because of the two-way rule, though, starting Ohtani ensures he can remain in the game as the designated hitter after he exits as a pitcher. If he were to come in as a reliever and then exit with the game ongoing, Ohtani would have to play in the outfield to bat again. Closing the game — like he did to finish the 2023 World Baseball Classic for his native Japan — is also an option, but it is further complicated by having to juggle warming up while batting or running the bases.

The Blue Jays will start Max Scherzer in Game 7 and, to some extent, have every pitcher available other than Kevin Gausman. That includes 22-year-old phenom Trey Yesavage, who dominated the Dodgers in Wednesday’s Game 5, striking out 12 while throwing seven innings of one-run ball. Saturday would have qualified as Yesavage’s bullpen day. Instead, he could pitch the decisive game of the 2025 season.

“If the people who make the decision think it’s a good idea for the team,” Yesavage said, “then I’m all for it.”

ESPN’s Jeff Passan contributed to this report.

The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers entered Friday night just one loss away from elimination.

But a bold move to bring in Sunday’s projected starter, Tyler Glasnow, in the final frame of the ninth inning helped the Dodgers survive.

Glasnow entered Friday’s win-or-go home game with a Toronto Blue Jays runner on second and another on third base. It took Glasnow just three pitches to get three outs to close the game and force a Game 7.

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Two of those outs came after the Dodgers turned what appeared to be a potential game-tying hit into a dramatic, game-ending double play.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decided to shake up the lineup again for Game 6.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) reacts with catcher Will Smith (16) after the ninth inning for game six of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre on Oct. 31, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Nick Turchiaro/Imagn Images)

After moving from second to third in the order in Wednesday’s Game 5 loss, shortstop Mookie Betts dropped into the cleanup spot Friday against Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman.

OUTFIELDER? OPENER? SHOHEI OHTANI’S GAME 7 ROLE IS WIDE OPEN

Betts had not hit as low as fourth since the final game of the 2017 American League Division Series against Houston. Game 5 was the first time since 2021 that Betts started but wasn’t in one of the top two spots in Los Angeles’ lineup.

Mookie Betts (50) of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a two-run single against Kevin Gausman (34 ) of the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning in game six of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on Oct. 31, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario.   (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Betts entered Game 6 hitting just 3-for-23 with no RBIs or extra-base hits in the World Series, but he made the most of his new spot in the batting order, delivering a two-run single in the third inning.

Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was not quite as sharp as in his Game 2 four-hitter, the first World Series complete game in a decade. He lasted six innings and allowed only a third-inning RBI single by George Springer, who returned after missing two games with an injury to his right side.

After the game, Roberts explained his decision to use Glasnow in relief.  

“This is do or die. You’ve got to leave it all out there and pick up all the pieces,” Roberts told FOX Sports. ” Roki (Sasaki) wasn’t as sharp. I felt right there Glasnow had swing and miss stuff and I just wanted to bet on him.”

Max Scherzer will start Game 7 on Saturday night for the Blue Jays. He also started the last World Series Game 7, getting a no-decision when Washington won the 2019 title over Houston.

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The Dodgers are seeking to become the first team to win consecutive titles since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays hope to end their championship drought by securing their first World Series title since 1993.

Game 7 is scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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We’re going to Game 7!

In a must-win Game 6 of the 2025 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers delivered. After manager Dave Roberts shook up his lineup, new cleanup hitter Mookie Betts broke out of a series-long slump and starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was excellent again on the mound, forcing the Toronto Blue Jays to a winner-take-all finale on Saturday night.

Here’s how L.A.’s victory went down, with our in-game analysis and postgame takeaways.

Takeaways

Series tied at 3

It was over when …: Enrique Hernandez caught an Andres Gimenez line drive and threw it to Miguel Rojas for a game-ending double play. The Blue Jays had put men on second and third with no one out in the bottom of the ninth off closer Roki Sasaki, and the Dodgers were forced to turn to Tyler Glasnow — who got out of the jam, thanks in part to his defense, to force Game 7 on Saturday night.

Star of Game 6: Toronto made Yoshinobu Yamamoto work a little harder this time, but he still worked six outstanding frames, limiting the Blue Jays to one run and working around traffic several times. Yamamoto is now 4-1 with a 1.56 ERA over five October outings. If that’s it for his postseason run, he’s done his part for the Dodgers and more. This is why L.A. signed him to the biggest contract ever given to a pitcher when he inked it.

The stat that defined the game: In the last 30 years, there have been five players to pitch 15-plus innings in the World Series and allow two runs or fewer: Randy Johnson in 2001, Josh Beckett in 2003, Jon Lester in 2013, Madison Bumgarner in 2014 — and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2025, according to ESPN Research. Each of the previous four saw their team win the World Series.

What it means for the series: Blue Jays manager John Schneider knew he had a game to work with. There was no reason to go all hands on deck, and since the game was well-pitched by both teams, neither bullpen was annihilated by the events of Game 6. This was a risk the Dodgers would have had to take to survive, but thanks to Yamamoto and the clean work from the relievers that followed him, the Dodgers join the Blue Jays in having a staff in good shape for Saturday. Game 7 will be a fascinating chess match from the time the starting pitchers and lineups are announced. If the finale is anything like the different scenes of what has come before it, it’s going to be special. — Bradford Doolittle

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