Honestly, if you turned off the TV around the ninth inning thinking you’d catch the highlights in the morning, I can’t even blame you. Most people did. But what actually happened at Dodger Stadium on that Monday night was nothing short of a statistical anomaly. The final game 3 world series score of Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Toronto Blue Jays 5 doesn’t even begin to tell the story of a game that refused to end.
It was a 18-inning nightmare for the bullpens and a dream for the night owls. Six hours and 39 minutes. That's how long it took. By the time Freddie Freeman finally launched that walk-off home run into the California night, the calendar had practically flipped. It tied the record for the longest game in World Series history, matching that legendary 2018 marathon where Max Muncy did something very similar.
Breaking Down the 18-Inning Box Score
You’ve gotta look at the sheer exhaustion in the box score to appreciate this. The Dodgers and Blue Jays combined for 31 hits. 15 for Toronto, 16 for Los Angeles. But for a massive chunk of that game—from the 8th inning all the way through the 17th—nobody could buy a run. It was just a parade of relievers throwing high-90s heat to hitters who looked like they’d been awake for three days.
The scoring started early and felt fairly "normal" for a World Series game. Teoscar Hernández and Shohei Ohtani both took Max Scherzer deep early on to give LA a 2-0 lead. Then the Blue Jays punched back. Alejandro Kirk, who has been a thorn in the side of NL pitchers all year, blasted a three-run shot in the fourth.
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Here is the basic scoring rhythm:
- Early Innings: Dodgers lead 2-0 on solo shots.
- The 4th Inning: Toronto explodes for 4 runs.
- The 5th-7th: A back-and-forth scramble where Ohtani eventually ties it at 5-5 with his second homer of the night.
- The 8th-17th: Total silence. Zeroes across the board.
- The 18th: Freddie Freeman ends the madness.
Why the Game 3 World Series Score Stayed Frozen for 10 Innings
It's kinda wild when you think about it. Ten straight innings of scoreless baseball in the highest-pressure environment imaginable. Why couldn't anyone score? Well, John Schneider and Dave Roberts basically emptied their entire rosters.
Toronto used every single position player they brought to Los Angeles. Every. Single. One. When George Springer went down with a side injury in the 7th, it forced a series of defensive shifts and pinch-hitting moves that eventually left the Blue Jays with a "Frankenstein" lineup. By the 15th inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was hitting in a lineup surrounded by guys like Ty France and Nathan Lukes. No disrespect to them, but it’s not exactly the Murderers' Row that pitchers fear.
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On the Dodgers' side, the bullpen—which everyone was complaining about all season—suddenly became invincible. Will Klein, a guy who wasn't even the primary closer, ended up throwing four scoreless innings to earn the win. Four innings for a reliever! That's a starter's workload in the modern era.
The Ohtani Factor and the Freeman Finish
Shohei Ohtani was doing Shohei Ohtani things, obviously. He became just the second player ever to record four extra-base hits in a single World Series game. He was the reason the Dodgers were even in a position to win. But the hero of the game 3 world series score was undoubtedly Freddie Freeman.
Facing lefty Brendon Little in the bottom of the 18th, Freeman didn't wait around. He saw a pitch he liked and absolutely tattooed it to dead center. The stadium, which was still surprisingly full at nearly 1:00 AM local time, erupted. It gave the Dodgers a 2-1 series lead and, more importantly, it allowed everyone to finally go home and sleep.
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Practical Takeaways from the Marathon
If you’re looking at what this means for the rest of the series or your own trivia knowledge, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Bullpen Tax: When a game goes 18 innings, the next night is usually a disaster for the pitchers. Check the "active" list for Game 4 because several of these guys won't be available to throw a single strike.
- Roster Depth Matters: Toronto losing Springer in the middle of this marathon was the silent killer. It took the teeth out of their offense when they needed one single hit to break the tie.
- Record-Tying Longevity: This game is now officially in the history books alongside the 2018 Game 3. If you watched the whole thing, you witnessed one of the longest professional baseball games ever played.
For fans following the stats, keep an eye on how many pitchers are "burned" for the next 48 hours. Most managers will tell you they’d rather lose 10-0 in nine innings than lose 6-5 in eighteen. The physical toll on the arms is just immense.
To get the most out of these historic stats, you should track the "pitcher usage" charts for the subsequent games. The team that manages their remaining healthy arms most effectively usually takes the series after a marathon like this. Look for "long relief" specialists to play a massive role in the next two matchups.