LOS ANGELES — This was the kind of recreation the place you drop to your knees and thank heavens you determined, at no matter level, to turn into a baseball fan. I discovered myself considering within the seventh inning that for those who simply randomly introduced a non-baseball fan to this recreation, they’d instantly turn into a die-hard fan, hooked for the remainder of their life. It was nearly like — only a few miles from Hollywood — the sport was scripted for max leisure.
It lasted 18 innings and ended on one other Freddie Freeman walk-off house run, similar to Sport 1 of final yr’s World Sequence. This one was a solo shot to useless heart subject. The hundreds of followers who had been nonetheless in attendance shot to their toes and roared, quickly serenaded with “I really like L.A.” It was a 6-5 Dodgers win in 18 innings.
The additional-innings portion of the sport dragged and, let’s face it, nobody who had by no means seen baseball earlier than would need to be right here for nearly seven hours. For these first 7-9 innings, although, it was breathtaking and the entire recreation supplied loads of quirky twists and turns. After which a walk-off house run. All’s effectively that ends effectively.
“It is one of many biggest World Sequence video games of all time,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts stated after the sport. “Emotional. I am spent emotionally.”
I have been to some wonderful video games. I assumed in regards to the walk-off grand slam final yr, Sport 7 in 2016 (due to course I did), Sport 5 in 2017, Sport 6 in 2011 and so many extra. There have been extra dramatic endings in that record, extra weight-of-history video games in there and higher-scoring affairs, however this one was unimaginable theater like just a few others have had in current World Sequence historical past. Once more, if we restricted our scope to 9 innings, it was solely lacking the dramatic ending. And in extras, there have been loads of shut calls. There was a ton of site visitors on the bases. The 2 groups mixed to go away 37 males on base. Each groups had been tantalizingly shut a number of instances to taking this one in extras earlier than the 18th, when the Blue Jays stranded runners on second and third base earlier than the Freeman walk-off.
There have been even storylines that went past this explicit recreation.
Keep in mind, that is the first-ever World Sequence assembly between the Blue Jays and Dodgers. There’s historical past with George Springer from the 2017 Astros, and he is been showered with boos like I’ve not often heard earlier than. We had an all-time nice pitcher beginning on the mound for the Blue Jays in Max Scherzer.
Even post-prime Scherzer at age 41 was fairly good for essentially the most half. He seemed like classic Mad Max for just a few moments. And Shohei Ohtani was chargeable for RBI on two of the three runs charged to Scherzer. Cannot actually blame him there.
Did I say Ohtani? Sure, the very best baseball participant on the planet was entrance and heart on this one. Once more. He led off with a double. Then he hit a house run. Then he doubled house an essential run throughout a game-tying rally. Subsequent time up, with the Dodgers trailing once more, he once more tied it. This time with a house run.
That is 12 complete bases, two shy of the World Sequence file. After that house run, Ohtani was 9 for his final 15 with six house runs and two doubles. Are you kidding me with this? It is in regards to the time somebody misguidedly says, “you may’t make these items up!” Yeah, you could possibly. We may do it in a film. Earlier than Ohtani happened, although, most individuals would’ve deemed the film unrealistic, even earlier than you contemplate the pitching.
That is how good he’s. The Blue Jays realized what was occurring and deliberately walked him the remainder of the sport. Sure, 4 intentional walks earlier than he took a four-pitch stroll the place each pitch was far out of the strike zone. The ol’ unintentional intentional stroll. Ohtani obtained on base 9 instances. That is a file each for the common season and postseason.
This recreation wasn’t all Ohtani. Removed from it. He was a major character, however there have been loads of different enormous moments.
We noticed the Dodgers bounce out to a 1-0 lead within the second on a Teoscar Hernández house run. It was his sixth of the playoffs in 13 video games. Ohtani’s homer within the third got here subsequent, placing the Dodgers up 2-0.
The door was left open for a Blue Jays rally within the fourth on a Tommy Edman error and the Jays burst via that door. An Alejandro Kirk three-run house run gave them the lead and so they tacked on one other run after that. Kirk, by the best way, had 15 homers and 76 RBI in 130 regular-season video games. Within the playoffs, he now has 5 house runs and 13 RBI in 14 video games.
The Dodgers answered within the fifth, as Ohtani hit an RBI double and Freddie Freeman drove him house with a shot down the first-base line.
That very same first-base line got here into play (once more) within the seventh when the Blue Jays took the lead (once more). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled and Bo Bichette — hobbled leg and all — despatched a shot proper down that very same line. A depraved carom off some broadcasting gear gave a bit of additional time to assist Guerrero rating from first, barely. He even did a enjoyable slap of house plate to beat the tag.
After which Ohtani tied it with the seventh-inning homer.
There have been all types of quirky performs blended in. A runner was thrown out at third after attempting to advance on an infield hit. A ball hit off Freeman’s glove within the eighth for successful, however then a runner attempting to go from first to 3rd was thrown out. There have been shut calls on the bases. Freeman was thrown out at house on a not-so-close name. There was even a play the place a runner on first base was picked off as a result of he thought a batter had drawn a stroll, although it was referred to as a strike as an alternative of a ball. The highest of the tenth ended with a runner being thrown out on the plate together with his star teammate on deck.
Actually, Edman made two of these throws, redeeming himself for that unhealthy error earlier.
There was a play at third base within the eleventh the place the defender tried to subject a potential infield hit with two runners on by standing with a foot on the bag whereas he grabbed the ball. It did not work. The runner was secure. Man, we had so many quirky performs.
A beginning pitcher who briefly transformed to nearer needed to are available in and get 5 outs to complete the ninth. He was adopted by one other starter who’s popping out of the bullpen this October.
After which one other all-time nice, Clayton Kershaw, entered within the eleventh with the bases loaded. He is in his closing season and gave up 5 runs in two innings in his NLDS outing and hadn’t pitched since. He confronted a 31-year-old in Nathan Lukes, who spent 10 years within the minors. He fouled off two 3-2 pitches earlier than grounding out softly to finish the inning.
Will Klein, who had one inning of playoff expertise and fewer than 23 innings of regular-season expertise in his profession threw 4 scoreless innings for the Dodgers in aid. He’d by no means beforehand gone greater than two innings in an MLB outing.
Drama. Enjoyable. Redemption. Traditionally nice gamers going at it. Marathon further innings with a number of tease jobs. Sport 3 of the 2025 World Sequence really had all of it.
