Dodgers survive dramatic ninth to force Game 7

TORONTO -- The din at the Rogers Centre began well before the game and continued almost without interruption for nearly all nine dramatic, tense innings of Game 6 in the World Series. The blare paused but for a moment in the bottom of the ninth, and at least in part because of that, we will have a Game 7.

The Los Angeles Dodgers survived a wild bottom of the ninth to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Friday to even the World Series at three games apiece. Game 7 will be played Saturday night.

"Game 7. Amazing," said the Dodgers' Enrique Hernandez, who played a key role in making Game 7 happen. "This is what we dream of, ever since we were little kids."

The game ended when Toronto shortstop Andres Gimenez lined into a game-ending double play started by left fielder Enrique Hernandez and completed on a fine pick and tag at second base by Miguel Rojas, doubling up the Blue Jays' Addison Barger, who as the potential tying run had wandered too far off of second base.

Gimenez's drive off Dodgers righty Tyler Glasnow, making a rare appearance out of the bullpen, looked like it might drop in, which could potentially have tied the score, as it would have brought home pinch runner Myles Straw from third and possibly Barger.

"Dude, I didn't have enough time to think about it," Glasnow said. "I just thought, 'Please don't be a hit. Sweet. It's not a hit. Nice.' That was my thinking, I guess."

Indeed, Hernandez made a quick read and took off in a full sprint toward the infield and grabbed Gimenez's liner. He then fired an off-balance and somewhat errant throw to Rojas, who nabbed the ball and swiped a tag at Barger, who was scrambling back to the bag. The bang-bang out call was confirmed on replay, ending the game.

As for the crowd, Hernandez said a sudden instant of quiet allowed him to get a bead on Gimenez's drive.

"I was just anticipating him hitting the ball like to the left side of the field and just playing shallow, trying to keep the runner at second base from scoring," Hernandez said. "But for a split second, as Glasnow threw the ball, the crowd got quiet, and I was able to hear that the bat broke. So I just got a really good jump on the ball, and I came in."

All four runs in the contest were scored in the third inning, with the Dodgers' three-run rally capped by a two-run single from slumping shortstop Mookie Betts. The Blue Jays got a run back on a George Springer single.

Meanwhile, L.A. starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and his opponent, Toronto righty Kevin Gausman, repeated their Game 2 duel, with both pitchers tossing six strong innings and turning the game over to the respective bullpens.

The zeros kept piling up, but the Blue Jays chased reliever Roki Sasaki, who was bidding for a two-inning save but struggled with his command. He began the ninth by plunking catcher Alejandro Kirk, who was replaced on the bases by Straw.

Then the chaos began.

Barger hammered a Sasaki fastball over the head of Hernandez in left with a drive that left the bat at 106 mph as Straw roared around the bases. The ball seemed headed for the padding on the outfield fence but instead became wedged just beneath it, stopping on a dime between the padding and the warning track.

Confusion rained from every corner. Dodgers center fielder Justin Dean raced over and threw up his hands, calling attention to the trapped ball. Hernandez ran over and started yelling at Dean to grab the ball and throw it into the infield because Barger was in the process of circling the bases.

"I was just screaming at him to get the ball and throw it in, because that's umpire's discretion," Hernandez said. "The fact that the ball stuck there doesn't mean that they're actually going to call ground rule double. So I was screaming at him. That's kind of why I've lost my voice a little bit."

Meanwhile, left field umpire John Tumpane had called time as soon as he saw the ball trapped under the padding. Taking nothing for granted, Barger rounded third and crossed the plate. The sold-out crowd thundered, certain they had just seen the Blue Jays tie the score on a two-run inside-the-park-homer.

"Been here a long time," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "I haven't seen a ball get lodged, ever. Just caught a tough break there."

The play was ruled a ground-rule double, sending Barger back to second and Straw back to third. They advanced no farther after the wild play was confirmed on replay.

Glasnow, warming up in the bullpen when all of this was going on, trotted onto the field to replace Sasaki after throwing seven or eight warm-up pitches in the bullpen and got Ernie Clement on the first pitch he threw on week pop up to first.

Two pitcher later, Gimenez lined the ball at Hernandez and the rest was history.