Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays have to be absolutely exhausted after requiring 18 innings to decide the winner of Game 3 of the World Series. But both teams would much rather be happy while exhausted instead of playing the blame game, and for the Dodgers, they'll at least be sleeping soundly after Freddie Freeman hit another walk-off home run in the World Series — a solo shot off of Brendon Little on a hanging sinker on a full count in the bottom of the 18th.
But before Freeman hit paydirt and finally sent the fans at Dodger Stadium eagerly anticipating a walk-off win home happy, there were plenty of frustrating moments for both teams. They were threatening to score during the extra innings, but couldn't seem to find a way to get them safely across the plate.
In fact, the two teams combined to leave 37 runners stranded on base, which is a new World Series record for most runners left on base, as pointed out by Sportsnet on X (formerly Twitter).
As early as the 10th inning, the Blue Jays were already threatening to score a go-ahead run. But instead, Davis Schneider got himself thrown out at the plate in a questionable send from third-base coach Carlos Febles.
In the bottom of the 11th, Freeman already had a golden opportunity to win the game for the Dodgers, with Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts on base. Freeman proceeded to fly out to left field. In the 13th, Freeman came on with the bases loaded, and he sent a deep fly ball to the warning track, only to be caught by Daulton Varsho.
The Blue Jays were knocking on the door in the 18th, with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Varsho advancing to third and second base, respectively, after a wild pitch from Will Klein. Klein stranded those runners by striking out Tyler Heineman.
If anything, both bullpens deserve plenty of credit for keeping the score tied for that long.
Dodgers win bullpen war of attrition against the Blue Jays
If given the choice, Blue Jays manager John Schneider certainly would not have gone with Brendon Little to end the game. Alas, Little was the only bullpen arm remaining for Toronto, so he had no choice but to call upon him even though he already had some shaky moments earlier in the postseason.
Little barely got through the 17th before he allowed Freeman to end the game with one swing. Meanwhile, Klein pitched four innings and got the win for the Dodgers.
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