Freeman lifts Dodgers past Blue Jays in Game 3

Los Angeles, CA (News 4 Us Online) – Freddie Freeman did again. In the bottom of the 18th inning, with his team deadlocked in a Game 3 World Series battle with the Toronto Blue Jays, Freeman uncorked a home run blast over the centerfield wall to give the Dodgers an exhausting but memorable 6-5 win at Dodger Stadium. 

“My swings were getting better as the game was going on,” Freeman said. “I thought I had a couple hits in, I don’t know, 21 innings ago (laughing). It just felt like my swing was getting better and better and, thankfully, I was able to get one over.” 

Freeman’s home run was the conclusion to the high drama that made its way to Dodger Stadium for Game 3. Every pitch was magnified. Every miscue mattered. Every baserunning blunder scrutinized.  

The chess game both managers played with the assortment of relief pitchers trying to close out the contest validated what was at stake. In a no-win scenario, the Blue Jays did the unthinkable for some ballclubs and walked both Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani to load the bases in the bottom of the 13th inning just to get to pitch to Freeman, the hero of last year’s World Series.

Toronto’s strategy worked in that situation. For the game, Freeman went to bat seven times and came up hitless in five of those instances. The Blue Jays went ahead and pitched to Freeman in that 18th inning. 

As we know now, that plan came back to bite them in the rear end. 

“Yeah, it’s one of the greatest World Series games of all time,” Roberts said. “Emotional. I’m spent emotionally. We got a ball game later tonight, which is crazy.”   

To win Game 3, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasn’t messing around,  calling  up and using 10 pitchers. Game 3 was a high-stakes, high drama showdown between the Dodgers and Blue Jays. The two best teams in baseball played as if there was a lot riding on the outcome of the contest. 

It was and it is. Game 3 is a pivotal game in any best-of-seven playoff series scenario. For the world championship, the winner of this particular game would most likely have an edge of their opponent for the rest of the series. 

The Dodgers and Blue Jays both played like Game 3 was a must-win game to have. 

Base-running blunders saw players from both teams try to stretch routine plays into an extra base only to be called out. Typical or routine fielding plays turned into miscues being committed. One of those errors by Tommy Edman led to a three-run home run that would give Toronto a scoring jolt.   

This game could be summed up in two words for both teams: missed opportunities. Game 3 went into extra innings because both team floundered their way through the first nine innings of play. 

But also what it showed was the high stakes roller-coaster ride playing in the World Series can present. Every pitch matter. Every error or miscue becomes more magnified because of the worldwide stage of the World Series. So let’s not go down the list of blunders that cost both teams. 

However, it may be important to do just that given the magnitude of a possible swing win or loss in the series. The Dodgers sent out eight pitchers  

The highlight of most of the evening for the Dodgers was Shohei Ohtani, who continues to amaze. Through the first nine innings of play, Ohtani stood out as the best player in baseball.

During his first four at-bats, Ohtani hit two home runs and belted two doubles and helped the Dodgers ride into extra innings with a 5-5 tie with the Blue Jays. For the second time this series, the starting pitcher for the Dodgers couldn’t get it together long enough to stick around for the finish. 

The Blue Jays made quick work of Game 1 starter Blake Snell. The Dodgers dropped that game 11-4, but was able to rebound with a Game 2 victory thanks to the complete-game magic of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But for Game 3 starter Tyler Glasnow, that magic was not there. 

Glasnow was all over the place and lasted four and two-thirds inning and gave up five hits in the process.