If you were looking for a quick nine-inning affair on the night of October 27, 2025, you were in the wrong place. Basically, the Los Angeles Dodgers won World Series Game 3, but that short sentence doesn't even begin to cover the insanity that happened at Dodger Stadium. They outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 in a game that literally tied the record for the longest in World Series history.
Eighteen innings.
Six hours and thirty-nine minutes of pure, unadulterated stress. Honestly, by the time Freddie Freeman sent that ball over the wall in the bottom of the 18th, most of the fans in the stands looked like they’d just finished a double shift at a factory. It was 1:16 AM in Los Angeles when it finally ended. This wasn't just a win; it was a survival test.
The Heroics of Freddie Freeman and the Ohtani Factor
You’ve probably seen the highlights by now, but the context is what makes it wild. Freddie Freeman is basically turning into a living October legend at this point. By hitting that walk-off home run off Brendon Little, he became the first player in the history of the sport to have multiple walk-off homers in the World Series. That’s a "statue-on-the-concourse" kind of achievement.
But before Freeman ended it, Shohei Ohtani was busy putting on a clinic.
He went 4-for-4 with two home runs and two doubles. He actually tied a 119-year-old record for the most extra-base hits in a World Series game. The Blue Jays eventually got so sick of him that they intentionally walked him four times. By the end of the night, Ohtani had reached base nine times. Nine. That is a postseason record that might not be touched for another century.
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Toronto's manager John Schneider basically admitted after the game that they just stopped pitching to him. Can you blame them? The guy was treating a World Series game like a slow-pitch softball tournament in the park.
How the Blue Jays Almost Stole It
Toronto didn't just roll over. Far from it.
Early on, it looked like they might run away with it after Alejandro Kirk smashed a three-run homer in the fourth inning. That blast followed a messy error by Tommy Edman, and for a few innings, the energy in Chavez Ravine felt pretty flat. The Blue Jays' lineup is a nightmare to navigate once they get a lead. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was fly-paper at first base, and Bo Bichette was playing through a visible knee injury but still managing to be a pest at the plate.
The Dodgers had to claw back.
- Teoscar Hernández started the scoring with a solo shot.
- Ohtani leveled things up with his second homer of the night.
- The bullpens then took over for what felt like an eternity.
A Bullpen Game for the Ages
When people ask who won World Series Game 3, they usually focus on the hitters, but the Dodgers' bullpen was the real MVP of the middle ten innings. Nine different relievers came out of the Los Angeles pen. That’s a record.
Clayton Kershaw even made a cameo!
Seeing Kershaw come in during the 12th inning with the bases loaded was one of those "is this real life?" moments. He retired Nathan Lukes on eight pitches, hitting 91.9 mph on the gun—his hardest throw in over a year. It was vintage, gritty, and exactly what the Dodgers needed to keep the game tied.
Then there was Will Klein. Most casual fans probably couldn't pick him out of a lineup before this game, but he threw four scoreless innings of relief. He threw 72 pitches, which is a massive workload for a guy who usually throws one inning at a time. Without those four innings from Klein, the Dodgers' arms would have completely evaporated before Freeman ever got his chance.
Why This Specific Game Mattered So Much
Winning Game 3 gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the series, but the physical toll was massive. Both teams emptied their tanks. When you play 18 innings, you aren't just winning a game; you’re compromising your pitching staff for the next two nights.
The Blue Jays used Eric Lauer for nearly five innings in relief. They burned through their high-leverage guys like Seranthony Domínguez and Brendon Little. It was a tactical chess match where both grandmasters ran out of pieces and started throwing the board at each other.
The Dodgers eventually won the 2025 World Series in seven games, and many analysts point back to this 18-inning marathon as the moment Toronto’s bullpen started to show the first cracks of fatigue.
Key Takeaways for Baseball Fans
If you're looking to understand the ripple effects of this game, keep these points in mind:
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Bullpen Management is Everything
In a modern World Series, the starter is almost secondary to the "bridge" of relievers. The Dodgers won because they had more arms capable of going multiple innings in an emergency.
The "Ohtani Tax"
Teams are now willing to give Shohei Ohtani the "Barry Bonds treatment." Walking him four times intentionally in a single game shows that managers would rather face anyone else—even a Hall of Famer like Freddie Freeman—than let Ohtani swing the bat.
Mental Fortitude in Extras
The Dodgers didn't panic when they blew early leads or when they stranded runners in the 14th and 15th innings. Keeping your head when you've been at the ballpark for seven hours is a skill in itself.
To really appreciate what happened, you should go back and watch the 10th-inning relay where Tommy Edman threw out Davis Schneider at the plate. It was a perfect throw that saved the game long before the 18th inning ever arrived. If you're following the history of the Fall Classic, this game sits right alongside the 2018 marathon as a definitive moment of "Dodger Magic."
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Check the box scores for Game 4 to see how both managers handled the "pitching hangover" from this 18-inning battle, as it dictated the strategy for the rest of the 2025 series.