Blue Jays - 000 400 100 000 000 000 - 5 15 0
Dodgers - 011 020 100 000 000 001 - 6 16 2For the second time this postseason, baseball fans – and more casual postseason observers who do not obsess over the game from the moment the gates of spring training camps are unlocked in mid-February – have been treated to an extraordinary, unforgettable game that simply would not have occurred if the most radical of the rule changes imposed on the game during Commissioner Rob Manfred's tenure had been used, as it is during the regular season.
The extra-inning runner that is used during the regular season is not used during the postseason. It would appear that even Manfred understands, on some level, that he shouldn't shit on the most important games of the season by insisting upon his most infamous gimmick of a rule change. I don't believe in prayer, but my fervent wish is that this obscene rule is erased as soon as Manfred's current tenure ends in 2029, and the basic foundation of the game, which had done quite well for 150 years, is restored.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays battled through eighteen innings on Monday night in the third game of the 2025 World Series, leaving fans of both teams utterly exhausted, as though they had run a marathon. For six hours and 39 minutes, the two teams battled in what truly deserved to be called a heavyweight bout before Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 18th round inning. Los Angeles leads 2-games-to-1 in the World Series. (Earlier this month, the Seattle Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in 15 innings to win the American League Division Series.
This game is tied for the longest World Series game by innings with Game 3 of the 2018 World Series between the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, a game won 3-2 by the Dodgers on Max Muncy's walkoff home run after seven hours and 20 minutes. (A couple of years ago, looking at the online box score and seeing 7:20 as the time of game, my first thought was that it must be a typo. Nope. That game ended for me at 3:30 a.m. in the Eastern time zone. I ended up not posting all that much about the game because I needed to get a bit of sleep before working later that day. I went to bed around 4:15, got four hours of sleep, and drove to my noon-to-midnight shift at a Toronto law firm. (My favourite factoid from that game: It lasted 15 minutes longer than the entire 1939 World Series, when the Yankees swept the Reds in a combined 7:05 (1:33, 1:27, 2:01, 2:04).)
That 2018 game featured 561 pitches. This "instant classic" had 609 pitches (48 more than in any other postseason game since at least 2000, but it's very likely the all-time record), which were disbursed over 153 plate appearances against a total of 19 pitchers (which is a record for a postseason game). The 37 combined runners left on base also set a postseason game record.
In a best-of-seven postseason series that is tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner has gone on to win the series 70 of 101 times (69.3%). Teams breaking a 1-1 tie with a home win in Game 3 in the current 2-3-2 format that have gone on to win the series 29 of 48 times (60.4%).
The best place to begin is probably with Shohei Ohtani. The man set several World Series records in this game because of course he did. If a game with Ohtani in it goes 18 innings, he's probably going to break a few all-time records. It would be surprising if he did not. Ohtani batted nine times and he reached base a record NINE TIMES. He went 4-for-4, with two doubles, two home runs, five walks (four intentional), three runs scored, and three RBI. The four BBIs was a new record. Then he went nine innings (as LA's DH), more than three hours, without facing a single pitch. He did not swing at a pitch after the seventh inning. He now shares the World Series record of four extra-base hits in a game with Chicago White Sox second baseman Frank Isbell, who hit four doubles in Game 5 of the 1906 World Series. . . . Ohtani will be the starting pitcher for the Dodgers in Game 4.
Ohtani At The Bat
1st inning: Double to right
3rd inning: Home run to right (increased LA lead to 2-0)
5th inning: Double to left-center, RBI cut Toronto's lead to 4-3 (he scored tying run)
7th inning: Home run to deep left-center (401 feet, first pitch, tied game 5-5)
9th inning: Intentional walk, thrown out trying to steal second
11th inning: Intentional walk
13th inning: Intentional walk
15th inning: Intentional walk
17th inning: Walk (four pitches)
[Some Ohtani factoids at end of post.]
Both teams seemed allergic to clean innings all night long. Of the 35 complete half-innings, only 10 were comprised of three straight outs. Once the game went into extras, I spent the top half of seemingly every inning anxiously watching the Dodgers' pitchers get in and out of trouble, before relaxing during the bottom half, happy to accept whatever the LA batters did or didn't do. . . . I was really hoping the game would last into a record 19th inning . . . and beyond. (I have this entire week off. I have nowhere to go, nothing to do.)
The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead on solo homers from Teoscar Hernández leading off the second and Ohtani with one out in the third. That inning ended with Freeman being thrown out at the plate by Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger, who fielded a single from Will Smith and threw a perfect strike to Alejandro Kirk on the fly. Kirk was in perfect position to catch the ball and block the runner from the plate and tag Freeman out.
Toronto was retired in order in the first and third inning, while stranding runners at the corners in the second. Mark Wegner, the home plate umpire, screwed the Blue Jays in the second. With Bo Bichette on first, Daulton Varsho walked on a high 3-1 pitch. But Wegner fucked up twice: he called the pitch a strike and he waited so long before annoucing the blown call that a confused Bichette was picked off first base. Varsho ended up walking and Kirk singled, so Wegner's blown call and unprofessional delay likely stole at least one run from the Blue Jays.
Toronto broke through against Tyler Glasnow (4.2-5-4-3-5, 85) in the fourth. Vladimir Guerrero drew a full-count walk and Bichette reached on an error. After Varsho poped to left, Kirk crushed a first-pitch curve to left-center for a three-run dong. The Jays made it 4-2 with singles by Barger and Ernie Clement and a sac fly from Andrés Giménez.
The Dodgers tied things in the fifth off Max Scherzer (4.1-5-3-1-3, 79), pitching in the World Series for his fourth team (2012 Tigers, 2019 Nationals, 2023 Texas). Kiké Hernández grounded a single into to center. With one out, Mason Fluharty came in and gave up a run-scoring double to Ohtani (who had fanned three times in three previous at-bats against him). With two outs, Freeman lined a single down the right field line, scoring Ohtani with the tying run.
The two teams each scored in the seventh. George Springer led off the top half and hurt himself when he fouled the first pitch off. He left the game and Ty France took over the at-bat, striking out. Nathan Lukes grounded back to the pitcher for the second out. Blake Treinen relieved Justin Wrobleski, and gave up a single to Guerrero. Bichette fouled off four pitches before singling down the right field line. The ball got tangled up with a sound guy and Guerrero scored all the way from first. The throw from right field was to the first base side of the dish and Smith could not get back for a tag before the run scored.
Seranthony ("Sir Anthony") Domínguez began the bottom of the seventh by retiring Andy Pages on a fly to right. Ohtani was next and Toronto's decision during a mound meeting was between simply sending him to first base or going right after him. (The idea of nibbling and trying to get him to chase was dismissed as pointless.) They decided to pitch to him, but Domínguez's first offering was a grooved fastball at 98. He might as well have placed the ball on a tee. Ohtani took a swing that appeared so easy and controlled and relaxed, it was a small shock that the ball travelled 401 feet to deep left-center. Ohtani's second home run of the night re-tied the game at 5-5. With two outs, Domínguez walked Freeman and Smith and had a 3-1 count on Max Muncy, but got Muncy to ground out.
And 5-5 was how the score remained for the next ten innings. Toronto put runners on first and third, thanks to a Betts error and a single from Giménez off Jack Dreyer. Roki Sasaki took over and got two ground outs to escape the jam, the third out coming when he leapt skyward to spear Lukes' high chopper over the mound. Sasaki seemed sharp as he got the first batter in the ninth, but then couldn't find the plate. He walked Isiah Kiner-Falefa (who had pinch-run for Bichette two innings earlier) on five pitches. Varsho lined a full-count pitch towards right field. Freeman leapt and the ball deflected off his glove. Tommy Edman chased the ball into the outfield and then fired a throw to third base to get IKF, who had ill-formed ideas of getting to third. That was the second out and Sasaki walked Kirk before getting a force at second. The Blue Jays left two men on base in each of the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, going 1-for-9 with RATS.
In the bottom of the ninth, Ohtani was walked intentionally with one out. He was also thrown out trying to steal before Betts fouled to right. It was the first of four consecutive intentional walks to Ohtani. The next time he actrually stood in the box and saw some pitches was when he walked on four straight ball sin the seventeeth inning.
Emmet Sheehan faced the Jays batters in the tenth. (Sportsnet analyist Buck Martinez informed the international audience: "This is a big game for both teams." I suppose there might have been a few seals on Baffin Island who were unsure about the stakes.) Sheehan needed only six pitches to get two outs before giving up a single to France and a double to Lukes. The Baltimore dong was lined to to right, but the Dodgers gunned down pinch-runner David Schneider at the plate 9-4-2. Edman, the cut-off man, took Teoscar Hernández's throw, and made a perfect relay throw to the plate. It was in plenty of time and as Will Smith gloved the ball, he turned to block the runner and protect the plate. The Blue Jays challenged both the umpire's out call and his ruling that Smith didn't block the plate before he had possession of the ball. They lost on both counts.
Bottom of the 10th: Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman hit Smith with a pitch with one down. After Muncy struck out looking, Teoscar Hernández smacked an 0-2 pitch into left for a hit. Hoffman got Edman to foul out to Gerrero on his 33rd (and final) pitch of the night.
Top of the 11th: Sheehan avoids any drama, retiring Toronto's 3-4-5 hitters in order. Guerrero F8, Kiner-Falefa 1-3, Varsho K.
Bottom of the 11th: "Let's Go" Braydon Fisher, a rookie who had given up five runs in 5.2 postseason innings, is the seventh pitcher for Toronto. He strikes out Kiké Hernández on a diving curve and Clement catches Pages' line drive at third. Ohtani is put on first base and Mookie Betts singles to left. Ohtani appears to jog gingerly into second base. Roberts and a translator come out to chat, but everything seems fine. Freeman pops to left.
Top of the 12th: My scorecards have room for 12 innings, but the many pitchers on both sides (as well as several scrawled notes) have left little room at the bottom of the page, so I start a second scorecard. This is a scary fuckin inning. Facing Fisher, Kirk walks on five pitches (none of the four balls were close) and Tyler Heineman pinch-runs. The Blue Jays now have no position players on the bench. Myles Straw twice tries to bunt before lining to first. Clayton Kershaw is warming up for the Dodgers! Clement falls behind 0-2 and grounds the ball up the middle. Edman moves to his right, backhands the ball and fires to first. It's the second out, on a very close play. LA manager Dave Roberts has Giménez walked intentionally, putting runners at first and second. The move mystifies both Sportsnet announcers. Ron Shulman announces the move in a WTF voice and all Martinez can say is "very interesting" with a certain amount of wonder in his voice. Fisher has a 2-2 count on Schneider but misses with ball 3 – a pivitol pitch, because now the runners will be off with the pitch. Schneider hits a slow grounder towards third. Heineman is running to third and Muncy has his foot on the bag, forced to wait for the ball to get to him. Getting to third does not seem to be an urgent concern for Heineman, but he does make it to the safely base (without sliding). The bases are loaded and here comes Kershaw, who has announced he will retire after the World Series. He battles Lukes to a full count (bcbcb). His next three pitches are all a bit out of the strike zone, and would presumably be called ball 4 and force in a run, but Lukes offers at all of them, fouling the first two off before grounding out to second. Inning over, three left on base.
Bottom of the 12th: The Dodgers are retired in order. Fisher strikes out Smith and Eric Lauer, a lefty who made 15 starts during the season, gets two infield popups.
Top of the 13th: Edgardo Henriquez, a 23-year-old righty, takes over for the Dodgers, and alternates fastballs at 101/102 with sliders at 83/84. He hits Varsho in the back leg with a 102-mph fastball with two outs. Heineman, in his first postseason trip to the plate, flies to center.
Bottom of the 13th: Edman extends his arms and drives an outside 0-1 pitch to right-center. Centerfielder Varsho was shaded towards left, and has a long run to get the ball. It's a double. Pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas bunts the potential winning run to third. Alex Call, another pinch-hitter (for Pages, who is 4-for-48 (.083) in this postseason), gets ahead 2-0 but pops to shortstop. Toronto manager John Schneider intentionally walks Ohtani (who reaches base for the seventh time, a new WS record). He also intentionally walks Betts, setting up an inning-ending force at every base, but also affording his pitcher absolutely no room for error. Freeman takes a ball before launching a fly to deep center. Varsho drifts back to the track and makes the catch. Schneider is a badass. (Buck Martinez: "This is a baseball game, folks.")
Top of the 14th: It's the bottom of the Jays lineup and Henriquez sets them down with a minimum of fuss: F8, 5-3, K.
Bottom of the 14th: Smith leads off and belts Lauer's eighth pitch to deep left-center, sending Straw to the wall for a very long (and for Dodgers fans, heart-stopping) out. Lauer is throwing a lot of pitches (and/or the Dodgers are making him work). After an eight-pitch F7, Lauer walks Muncy (seven pitches) and gives up a single to Teoscar Hernández (eight pitches). LA is again threatening to end the game, but Lauer suddenly needs only four pitches to get the final two outs: Edman pops to second (infield fly rule) and Rojas grounds to third.
Top of the 15th: Toronto's bats have cooled significantly since the twelfth. The last reliever in the Dodgers' pen, Will Klein, showcases a disgusting red beard that has obviously repelled all attempts at grooming. Perhaps it is a weapon to distract opposing hitters. Guerrero singles with two outs but is left at first when Kiner-Falefa strikes out looking.
Bottom of the 15th: GDGD says Brendon Little is now pitching for Toronto, but it's actually still Lauer (for the next two innings, in fact). Back at Skydome, it's 1:48 a.m. and a lot of fans are still watching the game on Skydome's huge board (which is extremely huge and high defintion). The team's admission charge of $15 seems greedy – why not free or a token $5 and make your $$ on food and drink?, but the remaining fans are getting their money's worth. Call grounds to second, Ohtani is walked intentionally, Betts flies to right, and Freeman lines out to deep left-center, as Varsho makes a nice running catch at the wall.
Top of the 16th: The Bue Jays go 1-2-3. It's quite boring, for a change: 4-3, P1, K. Guerrero eats an apple.
Bottom of the 16th: The Dodgers go 1-2-3. K, K, F8 to the track in right-center. Things have calmed down and I envision both teams settling into a groove of making outs for many innings.
Top of the 17th: Another clean inning for Klein. F8, K, L1. He's retired seven in a row! Sportsnet says that Fox's Tom Verducci is reporting that Dave Roberts will have a position player on the mound if the game goes into the 18th. Shulman and Martinez are skeptical. Why wouldn't Roberts have someone like Blake Snell (G1 starter) go for an inning or two instead?
Bottom of the 17th: Lauer is done after 4.2 innings (4.2-2-0-4-2, 68), having thrown the second-most pitches of any Jays pitcher (after Scherzer). Little is in and he strikes out Edman and gets Rojas on a grounder to short. Call singles to left-center and Toronto is more or less forced to pitch to Ohtani, hoping to maybe get him out rather than put the wnning run at second for Betts. But Little misses with four straight and Ohtani gets franked anyway. (Ohtani saw one strike after the fifth inning tonight, his HR in the seventh (which was also his last swing oif the game.) Betts, who has barely been an afterthought in this game, sees eight pitches and fouls to first. (He's 2-for-15 in the WS.)
Top of the 18th: No position player. It's Klein for his fourth inning (4-1-0-2-5, 72). Though, with one out, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (who threw a complete game in G2!) is warming up in the Dodgers bullpen. Guerrero walks, but is forced at second. Varsho also walks and the runners take second and third on a wild pitch before Heineman strikes out.
Bottom of the 18th: Freeman hammers a 3-2 sinker – the 609th pitch of the game – that is left out over the plate. This time, Varsho runs to the wall can do nothing. Little grabs his cap and walks off the field as the Dodgers celebrate.
The two longest World Series games by innings were both won at Dodger Stadium on solo home runs (hit on full counts) by the first batter in the home half of the 18th inning:
2018 WS Game 3 (October 26): Max Muncy led off the bottom of the 18th inning and homered on a full-count pitch (bbbcff) to left-center.
2025 WS Game 3 (October 27): Freddie Freeman led off the bottom of the 18th inning and homered on a full-count pitch (fbbbc) to center.
Four Dodgers played in both games: Max Muncy, Enrique Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, and Mookie Betts (who was with the Red Sox).
Ohtani set a new postseason record by reaching base nine times in a game. The previous record was six times, held by Stan Hack (1945 WS 6), Kenny Lofton (1995 WS 3), and Kerry Carpenter (2025 ALDS 5).
Ohtani is the first player to be intentionally walked more than once with the bases empty in a postseason game (since BBI became official in 1955). He had three tonight. Albert Pujols had one in 2011 World Series 5.
Ohtani is the first player to be intentionally walked four times in a postseason game. Only six players have had 4+ BBI in a regular season game, since 1955: Roger Maris (1962), Garry Templeton (1985), Andre Dawson (1990), Manny Ramirez (2001), Barry Bonds (2004, 4 games), James Wood (2025).
October 17, 2025 (NLCS G4): 12 total bases (3 HR)
October 27, 2025 (World Series G3): 12 total bases (2 HR, 2 2B)
No other MLB player in the modern era (since 1900) has had 12+ total bases in two consecutive home games in the regular season or postseason.
