Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. How late did you make it last night? I’ll admit that I went to bed in the middle of the 12th inning at around 1 a.m. ET. I’m not proud of it. But I have to get up early to write this newsletter. If anything, the fact that the game lasted another two hours validated that decision.
In today’s SI:AM:
⚾ Ohtani’s encore
🏈 Chiefs cruise on MNF
🏀 Florida’s expensive roster
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Did that really just happen?
After the top of the seventh inning of Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night, I thought I’d be leading this newsletter with how Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s hitting, baserunning and defense powered the Blue Jays to victory. After the bottom of the seventh, I knew I’d be writing instead about Shohei Ohtani’s unstoppable night at the plate. After the top of the 12th, I thought I’d lead with Clayton Kershaw escaping a bases-loaded jam in possibly the final pitching appearance of his career.
But no, the story of Game 3 was the sheer amount of baseball that was played: 18 innings of wacky, thrilling, high-stakes baseball that finally ended with Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer. The game lasted six hours and 39 minutes, ending just before midnight local time in Los Angeles. The two teams combined to use 19 different pitchers, who threw 609 pitches. Six different players came to the plate nine times, including Ohtani, who reached base all nine times.
The game tied a record for the longest in postseason history. Four other playoff games have gone 18 innings: Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS between the Braves and Astros; Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS between the Giants and Nationals; Game 3 of the 2018 World Series between the Dodgers and Red Sox; and Game 3 of the 2022 ALDS between the Mariners and Astros. By time elapsed between first pitch and the final out, it was the second-longest game in postseason history (trailing only that 2018 World Series game) and tied for the 12th-longest game in MLB history, regular season included.
The game would have ended a lot sooner if the Blue Jays hadn’t decided to cower in fear every time Ohtani came to the plate from the ninth inning on. Ohtani went 4-for-4 to begin the game, with two doubles and two home runs, making him the first player with four extra-base hits in a World Series game since 1906. The Jays then proceeded to intentionally walk Ohtani each of the next four times he came to the plate (including three times with the bases empty). His fifth walk of the night, in the bottom of the 17th, won’t officially go down as an intentional pass, but it essentially was. Toronto’s Brendon Little walked him on four pitches, three of which were thrown in the dirt.
Asked if we should expect Toronto to keep walking Ohtani for the rest of the series, Blue Jays manager John Schneider had a simple response: “Yeah.”
Ohtani had the best night of anyone on either team, but the Dodgers had plenty of heroes in Game 3. There was Tommy Edman’s excellent defensive play to throw out Isiah Kiner-Falefa at third base in the ninth inning. Kershaw entered the game with the bases loaded in the 12th and prevailed in an eight-pitch at-bat against Nathan Lukes to escape the jam (aided by another nice defensive play by Edman). Reliever Will Klein pitched four scoreless innings, keeping the Dodgers in the game long enough for Freeman to become the ultimate hero with his 18th-inning walk-off homer. (Freeman, who also hit a walk-off grand slam in the World Series against the Yankees last year, is the first player in MLB history with two walk-off homers in the World Series.)
Klein was the most unlikely hero. After being left off the postseason roster in the first three rounds, Klein was added to the World Series roster when Alex Vesia was unavailable due to personal reasons. Klein, 25, made his MLB debut with the Royals last season and then was traded three times in a span of 10 months (first to the Athletics at last year’s trade deadline, then to the Mariners over the winter and finally to the Dodgers in June). He pitched 15 ⅓ innings across 14 big league appearances in the regular season this year, spending most of his time in Triple A. In 22 MLB appearances before this World Series, he’d never thrown more than 36 pitches in an outing. He’d also never thrown more than three innings in any of his 195 appearances in the minors. But he threw 72 pitches across his four innings of work in the biggest game of his life.
“You don’t ever plan on playing 18 innings, and you just kind of ask more from the player,” manager Dave Roberts said of Klein. “He delivered. He threw probably three times as much as he’s ever thrown before and—certainly with the adrenaline on this stage—what he did was incredible.”
The question now is how the marathon game will impact the rest of the series. Monday night’s game was the first of three in a row in Los Angeles. Both teams now have exhausted bullpens with no off day to give their relievers a rest. The situation is especially dire for the Blue Jays, who now trail 2–1 in the series and have to face Ohtani as the starting pitcher in Game 4. The Jays have to win at least one of the next two games to ensure the series returns to Toronto on Friday. Their odds will be a lot better if they keep the next two games to the standard nine innings.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Shohei Ohtani followed his record-breaking Game 3 with yet another test of greatness, writes Tom Verducci. Just 17 hours after reaching base nine times in an 18-inning classic, the Dodgers’ two-way superstar will be back on the mound chasing another mythical World Series feat.
- Kansas City’s win wasn’t flawless, but Matt Verderame writes that Monday night showed just how unstoppable the Chiefs can be when Patrick Mahomes and company find their rhythm.
- Gilberto Manzano examines how Washington’s latest loss underscores the downside of betting big on veterans—the Commanders’ 28–7 defeat dropped them to 3–5 and exposed a roster short on youth, depth and future flexibility.
- At the midway point of the NFL season, Matt Verderame unveils his early All-Pro first- and second-team picks, highlighting the standout performers at every position as the playoff race starts to heat up.
- As the Bears and Commanders make their respective cases for suburban and urban sites, Gilberto Manzano breaks down how the two franchises are navigating the tricky politics and economics of stadium construction and learning that location matters more than they’d like to admit.
- Kevin Sweeney explores how, just 48 hours after a national title, Florida men’s basketball launched into a $10 million race—balancing NIL deals, draft decisions and transfer pursuits—to keep its championship edge.
- Sports Illustrated’s men’s college basketball preseason Top 25 continues with No. 4, where one of the nation’s most talented rosters is built around a rising star ready to make an instant impact.
The top five…
… plays from an unforgettable Game 3:
5. A 99 mph throw by Addison Barger to prevent a run from scoring in the third.
4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s excellent baserunning to score the go-ahead run from first base in the seventh.
3. Shohei Ohtani’s second homer of the night to tie the game back up in the bottom of the seventh.
2. Tommy Edman’s sliding stop and strong throw to get Isiah Kiner-Falefa at third in the top of the ninth.
1. Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer to finally end it just before midnight.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | The Many Heroes of an 18-Inning World Series Game 3.