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. Hernandez charged in to catch the liner in left field and threw a one-hopper to second base, where Miguel Rojas made a fine pick to double up the Blue Jays' Addison Barger, who, as the potential tying run, wandered too far off 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 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."
Hernandez made a quick read, took off in a full sprint toward the infield and grabbed Gimenez's liner. He then fired an off-balance throw to Rojas, who nabbed the ball as Barger was scrambling back to the bag. The bang-bang out call was confirmed on replay, ending the game.
Hernandez said a sudden instant of quiet from the crowd 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 game were scored in the third inning. The Dodgers' three-run frame was capped by a two-run single from slumping shortstop Mookie Betts. The Blue Jays got a run back on George Springer's 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 Hernandez's head in left field with a drive that left the bat at 106 mph as Straw rounded the bases. The ball seemed headed for the padding on the outfield wall but instead became wedged just beneath it, stopping on a dime between the padding and the warning track.
Confusion was everywhere. Dodgers center fielder Justin Dean raced over and threw up his hands, calling attention to the trapped ball. Hernandez, who initially also had his hands up, ran over and started yelling at Dean to grab the ball and throw it into the infield because Barger was circling the bases.
"I was just screaming at him to get the ball and throw it in because that's the 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 fans thundered, certain they had 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 to third. They advanced no farther after the wild play was confirmed on replay.
Glasnow, warming up in the bullpen while this occurred, trotted onto the field to replace Sasaki after throwing seven or eight warmup pitches in the bullpen and got Ernie Clement to pop out to first on his first pitch.
Two pitches later, Gimenez lined the ball at Hernandez and the rest was history.
"Stay up in the air. Stay up in the air," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of his thoughts as Hernandez closed in on the ball. "And Kike just gets great jumps. He is one of my favorite baseball players to watch. He's one of the headiest baseball players I've ever been around."
According to ESPN Research, the Dodgers are the eighth team in World Series history to execute a game-ending double play when facing elimination, and the first since the 1972 Reds in Game 5 against the Athletics.
And so we have a Game 7, a fitting conclusion to a series that has been jam-packed with dramatic moments and standout performances.
"Baseball deserves a Game 7," Hernandez said. "This has been a great, great World Series. The fact that we're getting a Game 7 is well-deserved. Both teams have played their butts off."