Freddie Freeman belted a first-pitch home run in the bottom of the 18th inning to deliver a six-to-five win for the Dodgers against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday evening, propelling the Dodgers to a 2–1 lead in the seven-game series.
Historic Length and Memorable Performances
The six-hour-and-thirty-nine-minute contest at Dodger Stadium matched the lengthiest World Series game ever contested by innings and concluded only after each club depleted more than ten hurlers, cleared their dugouts, and watched multiple would-be game-winning hits land just shy at the outfield fence.
The game unfolded on a night when the two-way superstar produced one of the most remarkable postseason showings in MLB annals.
Ohtani's Record-Setting Night
The two-way star reached base on nine occasions – the first player to do so in any MLB matchup since the 1940s – with a pair of homers, two two-base hits, and five free passes, a quartet of them intentional. He became the first hitter in playoff records with four extra-base hits in a World Series game and the pioneer to receive that many intentional passes.
"The most important thing is that we won," the star player stated. "We flip the page and prepare for the next one."
Game Summary
Los Angeles required each effort he offered. The Dodgers jumped to a two-run lead early: Teoscar Hernández hit a home run in the second inning, and Ohtani followed with a massive shot just inside the foul pole in the third.
Toronto ripped that away in the fourth inning. A defensive mistake extended the inning, and a Toronto batter hammered a hanging curveball into the left-center seats for a three-run homer. The Blue Jays added a sacrifice fly for a four-to-two advantage, their offense waking up after going cold in Game 2.
The Los Angeles used the ensuing frames responding to each Blue Jays rally. In the fifth inning, Ohtani drove a pitch into the outfield gap for an RBI double – his initial opposite-field extra-base hit in over thirty days – and the veteran first baseman came up next with a hard single to even the score at four runs apiece.
Late-Inning Drama
The frames that ensued, one after another, preserved tension as much as they prevented resolution. The plays on the bases alone were nearly unbelievable: six baserunners erased in total, with a Toronto defender throwing out one at third in the ninth and another at the plate in the tenth inning on a flawless throw from the outfielder.
There was even a strange caught stealing in the sixth when Bo Bichette strayed toward second base after misinterpreting the umpire’s late call for a walk, only to be snapped out at first base.
Seesaw Battle
The seesaw tilted once more in the seventh when the Toronto slugger raced to the plate from first base on a carom off the outfield wall in right field, giving the Blue Jays a 5–4 lead. That stood for just one Ohtani at-bat. He hammered a centered fastball over 400 feet to the outfield to tie the score for the third occasion.
Then came the extended stalemate.
The Blue Jays refused to let the superstar defeat them again, issuing intentional walks to him in the ninth, eleventh, thirteenth, and 15th innings. In one of those innings, the Blue Jays walked two key Dodgers to fill the bases and still got out of the jam.
Relief Endurance and Strategy
Manager John Schneider's strategy succeeded because the Toronto bullpen kept escaping jams, even as the team dipped into last-resort pitchers. An outfielder left injured in the seventh, leading to a succession of substitute batters.
The Dodgers responded with resilient relief of their as well. They employed ten hurlers, a World Series record for a single game. Clayton Kershaw entered in the 12th with the bases full and induced a ground ball out to end a major threat. Rookie right-hander Will Klein delivered four scoreless innings, the performance Freeman would later turn into a win.
Edgardo Henriquez and additional pitchers came next, matching zeroes as the hours passed slowly. Every pitch could have ended the game. Each delivery appeared not to.
Decisive Moments
Freeman almost ended it in the 13th, but his long drive died just short of the wall. Again in the fifteenth inning, the fans rose as a long fly sailed toward center field, only to sit back down into their seats once the catch was completed. As the night approached a seventh extra inning, the home crowd looked almost shocked by how stubborn the contest had become.
At last, the first batter in the 18th stepped in. Freeman fought through a full count against southpaw a reliever, then saw a sinker that didn’t drop. He crushed it over 400 feet to straightaway center and dropped his bat.
The Dodgers spilled from the bench. Ohtani ran in from the on-deck circle, gesturing toward his teammate. The game had ended. It required the entire evening. It seemed to last forever.
Looking Ahead
The Dodgers will rise fatigued but two wins from the championship. Ohtani will pitch once more, this time not to rescue the team but to push them nearer to a historic achievement.
