Freddie Freeman’s Epic Walk-Off in 18-Inning Thriller Propels Dodgers to World Series Lead and Leaves Fans Breathless.NN

Dodgers needed much extra Monday night to gain the World Series advantage. 

Freddie Freeman smashed a walk-off homer in the 18th inning, sending the Dodgers to a 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays in Game 3 of the World Series at Chavez Ravine. The game tied the longest in terms of innings in the Fall Classic’s history, matching the contest the Dodgers and Red Sox played in 2018.

“It’s one of the greatest World Series games of all-time,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, whose team holds a 2-1 series lead. 

Shohei Ohtani reached base nine times — five of which were via walk (four intentionally) — on a night he blasted two homers to give him eight in this postseason. Ohtani, who also doubled twice, became the first player in postseason history to reach base nine times in a game — and just the third ever in any game. The five walks came after he was already 4-for-4. 

Freeman’s blast against Brendon Little evoked memories of his walk-off grand slam that gave the Dodgers a victory over the Yankees in Game 1 of last year’s World Series. Freeman became the first player with multiple walkoff World Series homers. 

“It’s kind of amazing, crazy, and I am just glad we won,” Freeman said.

The Dodgers moved within two victories of becoming MLB’s first repeat champions since the Yankees won three straight titles from 1998-2000.

“The Dodgers didn’t win the World Series right here,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “They won a game.” 

Will Klein, the 10th Dodgers pitcher of the night, fired four scoreless innings for the win. The Blue Jays used nine pitchers. If the game continued to the 19th inning, Roberts said he planned to use Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two days after he pitched a complete game in Toronto.

“It took every single guy tonight and for Yamamoto to want to do that, it shows who we are as a group,” Freeman said.

This one included a relief appearance from Clayton Kershaw, who entered to record the final out of the 12th inning after the Blue Jays had loaded the bases. The future Hall of Famer, in his first appearance this postseason, got Nathan Lukes to ground out. 

The teams combined for 31 hits and 37 runners left on base in a game that lasted 6 hours, 39 minutes.

“Somebody has got to win this game and fortunately Freddie Freeman is on our team,” Roberts said. 

Max Scherzer allowed two solo homers on a night he surrendered three earned runs overall on five hits with three strikeouts and one walk over 4 ¹/₃ innings. 

Scherzer threw a 2-2 slider in the second that Teoscar Hernández pounded for a homer to left field for the game’s first run, and the first of his four hits (he and Ohtani combined for half of the 16 Dodgers hits). Hernández’s blast was his fifth this postseason and gave him 12 RBIs. 

Ohtani unloaded for a homer in the third that extended the Dodgers lead to 2-0. Ohtani, who is the scheduled Dodgers starting pitcher for Game 4, was playing his first game at Dodger Stadium since his three-homer performance against the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS. 

Alejandro Kirk’s three-run homer in the fourth gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead. But the Jays weren’t finished in the inning: Addison Barger and Ernie Clement singled in succession and Andrés Giménez’s sacrifice fly placed the Dodgers in a 4-2 hole. 

Scherzer was removed in the fifth as Ohtani approached the plate as the tying run. Enrique Hernández singled leading off and after Scherzer retired Andy Pages, the pitching change occurred. But lefty Mason Fluharty surrendered an RBI double to Ohtani that pulled the Dodgers to within 4-3. Freeman tied the game with a two-out RBI single. 

Bo Bichette’s RBI single gave the Blue Jays a 5-4 lead. Guerrero, running all the way on a hard shot along the first base line that caromed off a side wall, scored the go-ahead run. 

Ohtani tied it in the bottom of the inning with a homer to left-center. 

Roki Sasaki entered with two runners on base in the eighth and retired France and Nathan Lukes to keep the game at 5-5. 

The game included four runners thrown out on the basepaths, including three in the ninth inning or later. 

In the top of the ninth, Isiah Kiner-Falefa was thrown out at third base on a line drive off Freeman’s glove. Tommy Edman retrieved the deflection and fired to third for the out. In the bottom of the inning, Ohtani was thrown out trying to steal second. 

And in the 10th inning, the Jays’ Davis Schneider was thrown out at the plate to end the frame. Lukes stroked a double and Edman threw a strike to the plate on the relay from Hernández in right field. 

The Blue Jays played the last 11 innings without George Springer, who grabbed his side after fouling off a pitch in the seventh inning and then exited.