The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Monday in 18 innings, which matched the longest World Series game ever, to take a two video games to 1 lead in the best-of-seven sequence.
In an exciting back-and-forth further innings battle, the Dodgers wanted a history-making evening from their two-way celebrity Shohei Ohtani, who had three RBIs and three runs scored in an unimaginable four-hit, two-homer efficiency that noticed the three-time MVP attain base safely an astonishing 9 occasions.
In the finish, it was an 18th-inning, walk-off home run from 2024 World Series MVP Freddie Freeman that delivered the win for the Dodgers.
Toronto’s 41-year-old beginning pitcher Max Scherzer put his title in the MLB historical past books in the opening inning Monday evening, turning into the first pitcher ever to look in the World Series with 4 completely different groups. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was greeted rudely by a Shohei Ohtani lead-off double, however Scherzer managed to flee the inning unscathed.
Los Angeles proper fielder Teoscar Hernández would get the Dodgers on the scoreboard in the backside of the second with a solo home run off Scherzer for a 1-0 lead.
Ohtani would double the Dodgers’ lead in the third inning, turning on a Scherzer fastball and sending it 389 toes into the Blue Jays’ bullpen.
Los Angeles was poised so as to add one other run, however an ideal throw from Toronto proper fielder Addison Barger reduce Freeman down at the plate after a single from Dodgers catcher Will Smith.
The essential outfield help from Barger swung the momentum of the game in Toronto’s favor.
The Blue Jays received two runners on base with nobody out in the fourth inning after Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman made a fielding error on a potential double play ball off the bat of Toronto’s Bo Bichette. Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk then turned the game on its head with a three-run homer off Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow to place the Jays in entrance 3-2. Toronto would tack on one other run on a Andrés Giménez sacrifice fly.
The Dodgers bounced again with a two-run fifth inning to tie it up. Ohtani collected his third extra-base hit of the game with a double to plate Kiké Hernández. Freeman then drove in Ohtani with a single down the first bottom line to knot the game at 4-4.
Toronto reclaimed the lead 5-4 in the seventh inning on a spectacular play. Bichette laced a double down the first bottom line that despatched Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. racing round the bases, slapping his proper hand down on the plate simply forward of a diving tag try from Smith.
Ohtani as soon as once more got here to the rescue, belting his second home run of the game in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5. The reigning National League MVP’s fourth further base hit of the game tied a World Series file set by Frank Isbell of the Chicago White Sox in 1906. Ohtani additionally established his personal MLB file together with his third multi-homer game in a single postseason.
The game would stay tied into the backside of the ninth inning, when Toronto supervisor John Schneider made the choice to deliberately stroll Ohtani fairly than give him an opportunity to do extra injury at the plate. Ohtani was promptly caught stealing when he slid previous the base and was tagged out by second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa to snuff out the rally.
As the game progressed to further innings, the Blue Jays threatened to attain in the prime of the tenth inning, however a terrific throw from Teoscar Hernandez in proper area and an ideal relay from Edman had Blue Jays baserunner Davis Schneider useless to rights at the plate as the game remained all sq..
With neither crew in a position to rating, the contest dragged on into the 18th inning and handed the six-hour mark. It tied the file for longest World Series game ever, matching 2018’s Game 3 between the Boston Red Sox and Dodgers, additionally at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers received heroic efforts from a pair unlikely relievers – two shutout innings from Edgardo Henriquez and 4 from Will Klein, who picked up the win in a career-long outing.
With Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who pitched a whole game for Los Angeles in Game 2, warming as much as take the mound if the game went to a nineteenth inning, Freeman made certain that wasn’t the case with a towering walk-off home run to heart area off Toronto reliever Brendon Little.
After six hours and 39 minutes of nerve-racking agony, greater than 50,000 followers in Dodger Stadium erupted into celebration as Freeman rounded the bases to the acquainted tune of Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” to place an finish to one among the most epic video games in MLB historical past.
The Dodgers crew mobbed Freeman at home plate as the Blue Jays retreated to their clubhouse to lick their wounds with roughly 17 hours till the groups will do all of it once more in Game 4 Tuesday evening.
Freeman described his feelings rounding the bases to broadcaster FOX after the game.
“Just pure excitement,” Freeman stated. “When you grind and fight, and our bullpen and our pitching staff did what they did, to have that go six hours and 40 minutes or so, that’s as good as it gets.”
Ohtani, who may have restricted time to relaxation as he’s the Los Angeles’ scheduled beginning pitcher for Game 4, made one other little bit of MLB postseason historical past by turning into the first participant to achieve base 9 occasions in a playoff game. Prior to Monday, no participant had reached base greater than six occasions in a postseason game. After his 4-for-4 begin to the game, the three-time MVP was the recipient of 4 intentional walks and one conventional stroll.
Ohtani was requested after the game how he felt following his historic evening.
“I want to go to sleep as soon as possible so I can get ready (for Game 4),” a grinning Ohtani advised FOX by way of an interpreter.
Los Angeles will enter Game 4 with a determined benefit – traditionally when the groups break up the first two video games of the World Series, the winner of Game 3 has gained the championship 67% of the time.
This story has been up to date with extra info.