Los Angeles, CA (News 4 Us Online) – Game 3 of the 2025 World Series was one of the most entertaining baseball games imaginable for the first nine innings, so the Dodgers and Blue Jays decided to play another full game, tying the record for the longest contest in World Series history.
In the bottom of the 18th inning, nearly seven hours after the first pitch, Freddie Freeman delivered, hitting a walk-off home run in the World Series for a second consecutive year. Freeman’s heroics gave Los Angeles a 6-5 Game 3 win, and a 2-1 series lead over Toronto.
“To have it happen again a year later, to hit another walk-off is amazing and crazy. I am just glad we won,” said Freeman.
The best player in the world, Shohei Ohtani, got so hot that he did not see a pitch for four straight at-bats, as the Blue Jays opted to intentionally walk him. His final line of 4-4, two home runs, two doubles, and five walks makes him the first player to reach base 9 times in a game.
“I hope we don’t lose sight of our starting pitcher tomorrow getting on base nine times tonight,” said Freeman. “He is a unicorn. There is no other word to describe him.”
We will likely see this strategy employed for much of the rest of the series as the Blue Jays attempt to work around Ohtani. He may not see another pitch to hit again until next season.
There were errors in the field and on the basepath, lead changes, and even Clayton Kershaw, who was thought to be exiled from high leverage situations, came in to record an out with the bases loaded, redeeming himself. This game had it all.
Once it was finally over, you almost fail to remember that Max Scherzer and Tyler Glasnow were the starting pitchers.
Bo Bichette was subbed out of the game for a pinch runner in the seventh, and much to the liking of the Dodgers fans in attendance, George Springer left the game after appearing to tweak his back on a swing in the inning as well.
The two sluggers missing from the heart of Toronto’s lineup left the offense significantly weakened for the second half of the game.
The former Astro, Springer, was greeted at the plate by loud boos every time he stepped up to bat. If he is forced to miss time, it would be a massive blow to the Blue Jays.
It took ten different Dodger pitchers to get to the finish line, but the biggest contribution came from the most unexpected arm out of the bullpen, Will Klein. He had not been a member of the postseason roster until this series and spent time with three different organizations over the past year. Klein came through with the performance of his lifetime, pitching the last four innings of the game, striking out five, while giving up only one hit and no runs.
“I never dreamed that anything like this would ever happen. Having the guys, Kershaw, Freddie, Mookie, Shohei, and them kind of celebrate me for a second there was insane,” said Klein.
What would have made things even more interesting, as if the game was not already enough, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was slated to pitch the next inning. Yamamoto was the Dodgers’ starting pitcher in the last game and pitched all nine innings.
“He would have finished the game,” said Dave Roberts. “He was the last guy.”
Both teams will now have to refocus their energy and get ready for another nine innings —or who knows, maybe even more.
“This group is going to be ready to play tomorrow. Longest game in World Series history, whatever it is, tied for it,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider.
“It sucks that it’s late right now, we’ve got to come back and do it again tomorrow, but these guys are going to be more than ready. The Dodgers didn’t win the World Series today; they won a game,” Schneider added.
Benjamin Verbrugge is a reporter for News4usonline who studied journalism at CSU Dominguez Hills. “Sports have brought me much joy throughout my life, and I want to give a little back to something that has meant so much to me.” Email Benjamin at benverbrugge8@gmail.com.
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