Days away from the scariest night of the year, into the eerie October night close to witching hour, the Toronto Blue Jays witnessed the Boogeyman himself. No, it wasn’t Michael Myers chasing teens on Halloween; it was Freddie Freeman coming through when it mattered in the World Series.
As most of the country was asleep, getting rest, and preparing for an ordinary Wednesday workday, the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers gave Major League Baseball an early Christmas gift. Game 3 became an eighteen-inning instant classic! A game that featured almost everything a baseball fan would ever want in a six-and-a-half-hour marathon!
World Series Game 3 Recap
Again, we are smack dab in the middle of spooky season, and last night gave us some eerie reminiscence of 2018. Seven years ago, we witnessed an eighteen-inning World Series Game 3 in the same stadium. On that night, the Dodgers defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in what was the longest game ever in the “Fall Classic.” Well, fast-forward to 2025, and Dodgers fans are experiencing déjà vu.
The game started with Toronto’s Max Scherzer and LA’s Tyler Glasnow taking the mound in the pivotal game. Neither pitcher is a stranger to the World Series. Both pitchers knew the magnitude of the big game, with the series being tied 1-1. Neither pitcher went deep in the game, pitching into the fifth, but both kept their team in contention.
The Dodgers got off to an early lead. Since Reggie Jackson is already nicknamed Mr. October, Teoscar Hernandez should either be named Mr. October Jr. or Mr. October II! Hernandez hit yet another big home run in the second inning to put the Dodgers in the lead. The very next inning, the “Japanese Babe Ruth,” Shohei Ohtani, would prove once again that he is the greatest baseball player on the planet.
Glasnow and the Dodgers seemed to be rolling until the 5th inning. After a misplayed grounder to second, Alejandro Kirk hit a deep fly ball to center field for a three-run homer to take the lead. The lead wouldn’t last long with the Dodgers tying the game back up at four in the bottom of the fifth.
The Blue Jays would take the lead back in the top of the seventh inning with a Bo Bichette single and one of the smoothest slides to avoid a tag at home by Vlad Guerrero Jr.! Once again, the lead didn’t last! As we went to the bottom of the seventh, the Jays held a 5-4 lead. Then, on the biggest stage of all, the World Series, Ohtani went yard again with a solo shot!
The game would remain 5-5 from the seventh all the way to the eighteenth inning. After some brilliant pitching from the Dodgers’ Will Klein and six hours and thirty-nine minutes of exciting baseball, Freddie Freeman, who is no stranger to the big moment, sent the fans of LA home happy with a walk-off bomb to put the Dodgers up 2-1 in the Series.
Game 3 of the October Classic Provides Plenty of History
For fans who attended the game and for all of us who stayed up until 3 AM Eastern Standard Time, we realistically watched a two-for-one, as the game went 18 innings, tying an MLB record. That wasn’t the only thing making this game historic! Freddie Freeman became the first player in baseball history to hit two walk-off home runs in the Fall Classic. The first was a walk-off grand slam last year in Game 1.
With Freeman’s walk-off, the Dodgers organization tied the Yankees for most walk-off home runs in the World Series with four. Nineteen pitchers were used, setting a new record for a postseason game. There was a combination of thirty-seven runners left on base, also setting a new mark.
Shohei Ohtani seems to be a walking record breaker these days. Ohtani reached base nine times in the game, becoming only the fourth player in history to do so and the first in postseason history! By the way, his four extra-base hits tied a 119-year-old record in the World Series. He also became the first player in history to have three multi-home run games in a single postseason! If that’s not enough for you, he also became the first player in history to be intentionally walked four times in a World Series game!
Final Thoughts
For someone who loves baseball, I am so glad I stayed up until 3 AM to watch the game’s conclusion. Game 3 provided excitement from start to late, late finish. Major League Baseball’s stars were on display! Ohtani is proving he is the best player in the world, Teoscar is showing up in October, per usual, Freeman is coming up clutch, and Vladdy is providing excitement at the plate and on the field.
This game literally had everything! From big home runs, to clutch pitching, to great defensive plays, gunning runners out left and right. This game alone could have boosted baseball’s popularity. The only thing I could have asked for is for them to wait for daylight savings time so I could have gotten an extra hour of sleep!
