Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer lifts Dodgers to 18-inning win in World Series Game 3

Freddie, meet Freddie.

It was excruciating. It was exhausting. It was ecstatic.

It was Fred-die, Fred-die, Fred-die, forever.

Repeating history, rocking the Ravine, winning the unwinnable, Freddie Freeman has done it again for the Dodgers, knocking a baseball for a second consecutive October into probably a second consecutive championship.

In the 18th inning of the longest World Series game in baseball history Monday, nearly seven hours after it started, Freeman smashingly ended it with a leadoff home run against the Toronto Blue Jays to give the Dodgers a 6-5 victory and a two-games-to-one lead.

⚾ Dodgers 6, Blue Jays 5— FINAL, 18 INNINGS

Bottom of the 18th: Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off home run to lead off the inning to deliver the Dodgers to a stunning, 6-5 win and a 2-1 series lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.

Top of the 18th recap: Will Klein returned to the mound for the Dodgers with starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto warming up in the bullpen.

Klein got Nathan Lukes to line out to first base before walking Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa then grounded to short for a forceout at second in what was nearly a 6-4-3 double play, but the speedy Kiner-Falefa just beat Miguel Rojas’ throw to first base (call confirmed on review).

Daulton Varsho followed with a 10-pitch walk. A wild pitch by Klein during Tyler Heineman’s at-bat allowed Kiner-Falefa and Varsho to take third and second. Klein then struck out Heineman on his 72nd pitch to strand two runners in scoring position.

Klein has given the Dodgers four innings despite never pitching more than two at the major-league level.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through 17th inning

Top of the 17th: Ernie Clement flied out to center field. Will Klein struck out Andrés Giménez. Davis Schneider then lined out to Klein on a speedy comebacker to cap the frame.

Bottom of the 17th: Facing Brendon Little, Toronto’s final reliever, Tommy Edman struck out. Miguel Rojas grounded out before Alex Call singled to left field.

Shohei Ohtani, after being intentionally walked in his last four at-bats, is walked on four pitches by Little, anyway, to reach base for a ninth time (World Series record). Mookie Betts then popped out to first in foul territory.

The game is heading to the 18th, tying the record for longest game in World Series history (Game 3 of Dodgers vs. Red Sox on Oct. 26, 2018).

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through 16th inning

Top of the 16th: Will Klein got Daulton Varsho to ground out to second base. Tyler Heineman popped out to Klein before Myles Straw struck out in the 1-2-3 frame.

Bottom of the 16th: Toronto pitcher Eric Lauer struck out Will Smith and Max Muncy. Teoscar Hernández flied out to the warning track in center field.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through 15th inning

Top of the 15th: Will Klein, the final reliever in the Dodgers’ bullpen, struck out Davis Schneider. Nathan Lukes grounded out to Mookie Betts at short. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with a single up the middle that Miguel Rojas stopped at second, but he couldn’t make a play at first base.

Klein struck out Isiah Kiner-Falefa to end the inning.

Bottom of the 15th: Facing Blue Jays reliever Eric Lauer, Alex Call grounded out to second base.

Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked for the fourth time, reaching base for a World Series record eighth time. Mookie Betts flied out to right field before Daulton Varsho made a running grab on a liner to left-center field by Freddie Freeman to send the game to the 16th inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through 14th inning

Top of the 14th: Myles Straw flied out to deep center field before Ernie Clement grounded out to third. Edgardo Henriquez struck out Andrés Giménez for a 1-2-3 inning.

Bottom of the 14th: Will Smith flied out to the warning track in left-center field on a hit that Smith (and most of the fans at Dodger Stadium) initially reacted to as if it were a game-ending home run before it died at the wall.

Max Muncy drew a walk from Eric Lauer before Teoscar Hernández hit a liner up the middle for a single. Tommy Edman popped out to second (infield fly rule). Miguel Rojas grounded out to third to send the game to the 15th inning.

This is now the second-longest game in World Series history (by time and innings) behind the Dodgers-Red Sox 18-inning thriller in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through 13th inning

Top of the 13th: Edgardo Henriquez became the ninth pitcher for the Dodgers tonight, and he got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground out to short. Henriquez struck out Isiah Kiner-Falefa before hitting Daulton Varsho. Tyler Heineman flied out to center field to cap the frame.

Bottom of the 13th: Tommy Edman hit a leadoff double off Eric Lauer into the right-center field gap. Miguel Rojas then moved Edman to third base on a sacrifice bunt.

Pinch-hitter Alex Call replaced Andy Pages and popped out to short. Lauer then intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts to load the bases.

Freddie Freeman flied out to the warning track in center field to send the game to the 14th inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through 12th inning

Top of the 12th: Alejandro Kirk drew a leadoff walk from Emmet Sheehan. Toronto then replaced Kirk with pinch-runner Tyler Heineman.

Myles Straw popped out on a bunt that Freddie Freeman caught. Ernie Clement grounded out to second as Heineman took second base. Sheehan then intentionally walked Andrés Giménez.

Davis Schneider followed with a slow grounder to third that rolled to Max Muncy, who just missed forcing out Heineman, loading the bases.

Clayton Kershaw, playing in his final season, then took over on the mound for the Dodgers, tasked with getting out of the jam.

Nathan Lukes then hit a slow grounder toward first that Tommy Edman fielded and shoveled directly from his glove to Freddie Freeman to force him out at first.

Bottom of the 12th: Braydon Fisher struck out Will Smith. The Blue Jays then summoned Eric Lauer from the bullpen, who got Max Muncy to pop out to Isiah Kiner-Falefa in shallow right field.

Teoscar Hernández popped out to second base to send the game to the 13th inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through 11th inning

Top of the 11th: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. flied out, Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out and Emmet Sheehan struck out Daulton Varsho for the first 1-2-3 inning for the Dodgers since the third.

Bottom of the 11th: Toronto pitcher Braydon Fisher came back from a 3-0 count to strike out Kiké Hernández. Andy Pages lined out to third base before Fisher intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani.

Mookie Betts then singled on a grounder to left field, but Ohtani ran into second base a bit gingerly, prompting Dave Roberts to come out and talk to Ohtani before opting to leave him in the game.

Freddie Freeman then flied out to left field to end the inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through 10th inning

Top of the 10th: Emmet Sheehan took over for Roki Sasaki on the mound for the Dodgers. Ernie Clement popped out to Freddie Freeman at first before Sheehan struck out Andrés Giménez.

Ty France followed with a liner to left for a single. Nathan Lukes then hit a double to right field, but Teoscar Hernández made a perfect throw to Tommy Edman, who made another perfect throw to Will Smith, who tagged out pinch-runner Davis Schneider at home plate to keep the score tied.

Bottom of the 10th: Freddie Freeman popped out to third. Will Smith was then hit by a pitch from Jeff Hoffman. Max Muncy took a called third strike from Hoffman for the third out.

Teoscar Hernández followed with a sharp liner to left field. Tommy Edman popped out to first on a first-pitch fastball to send the game to the 11th inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through ninth inning

Top of the ninth: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. flied out to right field. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then drew a walk off Roki Sasaki.

Daulton Varsho followed with a liner that went off the glove of a leaping Freddie Freeman for a single, but Tommy Edman made a sliding grab on the ball and made a spot-on throw to Max Muncy, who tagged out Kiner-Falefa at third base for the second out.

Sasaki, struggling with his command, walked Alejandro Kirk. Myles Straw grounded to third and Muncy threw to second base for the force out to cap the frame.

Bottom of the ninth: Toronto reliever Jeff Hoffman got Andy Pages to pop out to second base on a 10-pitch at-bat. Hoffman intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani then was caught stealing. He initially appeared to be safe, but he left the bag and was tagged out by Kiner-Falefa. Mookie Betts flied out to right to send the game into the 10th.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through eighth inning

Top of the eighth: Facing Dodgers reliever Jack Dreyer, Addison Barger reached first on an error by shortstop Mookie Betts, whose throw to first was short and proved too much for Freddie Freeman to grab.

Ernie Clement then flied out to right field before Andrés Giménez singled on a liner to left.

Roki Sasaki took over on the mound for the Dodgers and got Ty France to ground out to third, but pinch-runner Myles Straw and Giménez advanced to third and second. Nathan Lukes grounded out to Sasaki for the third out.

Bottom of the eighth: Against Toronto reliever Chris Bassitt, Teoscar Hernández flied out to center and Tommy Edman flied out to left. Bassitt struck out Kiké Hernández to end the inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 5 — Through seventh inning

Top of the seventh: George Springer left the game after sustaining an injury during his at-bat to lead off the inning. Springer was holding his right side as he made his way to the clubhouse. Ty France took over Springer’s at-bat and struck out.

Nathan Lukes grounded out to Justin Wrobleski for the second out before the Dodgers went back to their bullpen, putting Blake Treinen on the mound.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled up the middle, then Bo Bichette hit an RBI single down the right-field line to give the Blue Jays a 5-4 lead.

Guerrero’s aggressive baserunning was key to the play. After the liner bounced off a broadcast sound worker along the wall in foul territory, it bought Guerrero just enough time to sprint home and touch the plate, beating Will Smith’s tag.

Daulton Versho followed with a single before Alejandro Kirk grounded out to second for the third out.

Bottom of the seventh: Facing Seranthony Domínguez, Andy Pages flied out.

Shohei Ohtani then hit his second home run of the game on a 401-foot blast to left field, tying the score 5-5. It was Ohtani’s fourth extra-base hit of the game.

Domínguez struck out Mookie Betts before walking Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. Max Muncy grounded out to second to end the inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 4, Dodgers 4 — End of the sixth

Top of the sixth: Facing Dodgers reliever Justin Wrobleski, Alejandro Kirk grounded out to first. Addison Barger singled on a high-chopping ball that Max Muncy lost when he tried to throw to first.

Wrobleski then struck out Ernie Clement and got Andrés Giménez to ground out up the middle, with Mookie Betts making a charging grab past second before throwing to first.

Bottom of the sixth: Louis Varland struck out Max Muncy. Teoscar Hernández then singled on a line drive to left field. Tommy Edman flied out to deep left field. Kiké Hernández singled, but Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. threw out Teoscar Hernández at third to end the inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 4, Dodgers 4 — Through fifth inning

Top of the fifth: Tyler Glasnow issued a leadoff walk for the second straight inning, this time to Nathan Lukes. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. flied out to right before Glasnow struck out Bo Bichette.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts then pulled Glasnow in favor of Anthony Banda, who got the left-handed hitting Daulton Varsho to pop out to Mookie Betts for the third out.

Dodgers reliever Anthony Banda delivers against Toronto in the fifth inning.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Glasnow gave up five hits, four runs, struck out five and walked three over 4⅔ innings and 78 pitches.

Bottom of the fifth: Kiké Hernández led with a single to center field. Andy Pages then flied out to right.

Mason Fluharty took over on the mound for Max Scherzer. Shohei Ohtani then hit a double to the wall in left field to score Hernandez and make it a one-run game. It was Ohtani’s third extra-base hit of the game.

Mookie Betts flied out to left. Freddie Freeman followed with a liner down the right-field line for a single to drive in Ohtani and tie the score.

Toronto reliever Louis Varland entered the game and struck out Will Smith to strand Freeman on second.

⚾ Blue Jays 4, Dodgers 2 — Through fourth inning

Top of the fourth: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drew a leadoff walk from Tyler Glasnow. Bo Bichette then reached first when Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman failed to corral an easily playable ground ball. Guerrero advanced to third on the error. Daulton Varsho then flied out to left field.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk celebrates after hitting a three-run home run in the fourth inning.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Alejandro Kirk followed with a three-run home run just over the ball in left-center field to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead.

Addison Barger hit a single to right field before Ernie Clement singled to the corner in right field to move Barger to third. Andrés Giménez then hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field to make it 4-2 Blue Jays.

Glasnow struck out George Springer to end the inning. Glasnow has given up five hits and four runs while striking out four and walking two over 66 pitches.

Bottom of the fourth: Max Muncy grounded out before Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman each popped out against Max Scherzer.

⚾ Dodgers 2, Blue Jays 0 — Through third inning

Top of the third: Andres Gimenez grounded out to second and George Springer grounded out to short. Tyler Glasnow then struck out Nathan Lukes.

Bottom of the third: Andy Pages popped out to second base. Shohei Ohtani then hit a 389-foot home run to the right-field corner to double the Dodgers’ lead. It was Ohtani’s seventh home run of the postseason.

Mookie Betts flied out to left field before Max Scherzer walked Freddie Freeman, who then stole second base (confirmed on review). Will Smith then singled to right field, but Addison Barger threw out Freeman at home plate to keep it a two-run game.

⚾ Dodgers 1, Blue Jays 0 — Through second inning

Top of the second: Bo Bichette led with a flare to center field for a single.

Then, in a very unusual sequence, Daulton Varsho thought he walked when he really took a called strike — on a pitch well above the zone and on a late call from home plate umpire Mark Wegner. Bichette, thinking Varsho walked, made his way to second, but Tyler Glasnow quickly threw the ball to Freddie Freeman to pick off Bichette.

Varsho walked three pitches later. Alejandro Kirk then singled to a line drive to right field before Addison Barger struck out. Ernie Clement lined out to center field to cap the frame.

Bottom of the second: Max Muncy flied out to right field.

Teoscar Hernández then hit a solo home run 412 feet into the Dodgers’ bullpen to give the Dodgers an early lead.

Scherzer struck out Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández to end the inning.

⚾ Blue Jays 0, Dodgers 0 — Through first inning

Top of the first: Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow struck out Toronto’s George Springer to start the game. Nathan Lukes popped out in foul territory to Kiké Hernández in left field before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. popped out to right field in a 1-2-3 inning.

Bottom of the first: Facing former Dodgers pitcher Max Scherzer, Shohei Ohtani bounced the ball over the wall in the right-field corner for a leadoff ground-rule double.

Addison Barger made a charging grab on a pop fly hit to shallow right field by Mookie Betts for the first out. Freddie Freeman popped out to third base. Scherzer struck out Will Smith to end the inning.

TORONTO — In theory, that could be him instead of Dave Roberts.

He could be the leader of the most expensive collection of talent in baseball history. He could be the two-time World Series champion manager. He could be part of a dynasty.

Don Mattingly said he never viewed his departure from the Dodgers in that context, however.

And when he returns to Dodger Stadium this week as the bench coach of the Toronto Blue Jays, he doesn’t expect to feel anything he wouldn’t feel in a World Series game played at any other stadium.

TORONTO — George Springer has become a hero in Toronto, where his five-year tenure with the team culminated in his go-ahead home run in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series last week.

But in Los Angeles, the veteran slugger remains a villain for his role on the 2017 Houston Astros team that beat the Dodgers in that year’s World Series — and was later found to have been stealing signs with their trash-can-banging system that year.

If you’re looking for a place to catch the Dodgers game, there’s a pizza place not too far from Dodger Stadium called LaSorted’s. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, this probably is not your place.

The walls are almost entirely covered in Dodgers memorabilia: yearbooks, programs, newspapers, magazine covers, advertisements, record albums, even a thermometer reading “1988 World Champions,” with portraits of Vin Scully, Don Drysdale and Ross Porter.

The menu includes a pizza called Mookie, with three cheeses, garlic, mushrooms, and mushroom cream.

TORONTO — Who would have guessed?

Who would have guessed that in a starting rotation of giants and alphas, the most important pitcher would be the diminutive 27-year old with the mischievous smile who plays the role of everyone’s little brother?

From a distance, Yoshinobu Yamamoto doesn’t look like someone who figures to contend in the coming years to be the best pitcher in the world.

He stands only 5-foot-10. He’s not mean in the way frontline starters sometimes are. He’s extremely considerate of others, even people who offer minimal, if any, transactional value — or more precisely, his focus and confidence in his work don’t blind him to their sensitivities.

Will Smith stared into left field, then turned to ignite the Dodgers’ dugout with a scream.

Max Muncy stared into left field, then turned to quiet the stands with a finger on his lips.

Two blasts, two reactions, one saved World Series.

Sputtering after making 17 consecutive outs, threatening to ruin more brilliance by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers suddenly erupted with two long balls in about two minutes Saturday, seventh-inning home runs by Smith and Muncy rescuing their game and quite possibly their season in fueling a 5-1 victory over the host Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre to tie the Series at one game apiece.

TORONTO — There might be no greater reminder of how far the Dodgers have come than the opposing pitcher on Monday. When the World Series returns to Dodger Stadium for Game 3, the starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays is scheduled to be Max Scherzer.

You may remember his brief tenure with the Dodgers four years ago, which ended with an elimination game in which Scherzer said he could not pitch. The Dodgers lost, the last domino in a cascade triggered by a front office that miscast its humans as widgets in a search for even the tiniest of edges.

Don’t just take my word for it. This was the word from Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez at the time: “Dodgers analytics dept really misused probably the best rotation in all of baseball. …They need to figure out a way to let starters be who they really are and let them pitch how they are used to.”

TORONTO — Will Smith had no choice but to ease his way into the postseason.

After missing the final three weeks of the regular season with a hairline fracture in his right hand, the Dodgers’ All-Star catcher sat out the National League wild-card series, then came off the bench late in the first two games against the Phillies in the division series.

He’s been making up for that lost time ever since.

Despite spotting his teammates those four starts, Smith’s .314 postseason average is best among Dodgers with at least 10 at-bats. He has 11 hits, the biggest of which came in the seventh inning Saturday when his tiebreaking solo homer sparked the Dodgers to a 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, evening the best-of-seven World Series at a win apiece.

Whether it’s wearing a specific jersey — or in the case of Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s interpreter, lucky boxers with a rabbit shooting a rainbow-colored laser out of its eyes — or making sure you’re watching the game from the spot on the couch, superstitions abound when it comes to sports, especially during the playoffs.

L.A. bleeds blue, and now that the Dodgers are facing off against the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, we want to hear your superstitions, actions and the lucky items you’re employing to help cheer the team on to victory.

Tell us your superstitions, and we might share your story in a future article.

Enter by filling out the form and tell us about your lucky item or whatever superstition or strategy you have to help the Dodgers win. You can even include a photo if you’re so inclined.

In the days leading up to Game 3 of the World Series, the Dodgers had considered shaking up the bottom of their lineup, and potentially dropping struggling center fielder Andy Pages to the bench.

But when the team announced its starters for Monday’s resumption of the Fall Classic, the team listed the same nine-man group its has used since the start of the National League Championship Series — Pages, included.

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Pages has started every game of this postseason but entered Monday batting just .093 in the playoffs with one extra-base hit, 11 strikeouts and no walks.

That slump had prompted manager Dave Roberts to acknowledge Sunday that moving Pages out of the lineup was “still on the table.”

During Sunday’s workout, Kiké Hernández also spent a noticeable amount of time fielding fly balls in center.

However, the Dodgers decided against the change for now, keeping Hernández in left, Pages in the No. 9 spot playing center, with their only other outfield alternative, Alex Call, on the bench.

“I think in totality the at-bats have been better,” Roberts said. “I think for me, I just want to see him continue to fight and compete … I want to keep betting on him. I’m not saying that it’s in perpetuity, but tonight I’m going to bet on him until I don’t.”

TORONTO — Orel Hershiser sat down at a Pasadena restaurant on Saturday night, took control of the remote to a television showing Game 2 of the World Series, then watched in awe at a feat no Dodgers pitcher had accomplished since he achieved it 37 years ago.

In 1988, Hershiser had the kind of postseason run that didn’t feel replicable in baseball’s modern era. As the staff ace of that year’s World Series title team, he threw three consecutive complete games in an iconic October tear: One in the National League Championship Series, then two more in the Fall Classic.

In nearly four decades since, no Dodgers pitcher had thrown back-to-back complete games in the playoffs, and only José Lima in 2004 had even thrown one.

The Dodgers face the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the 2025 World Series at Dodger Stadium on Monday at 5 p.m. PDT. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1.

The game will be televised on Fox, Fox One and Fox Deportes. Radio broadcasts in the Los Angeles area will be on 570 AM and 1020 AM (Español).

Here are the latest betting odds for Game 3 of the World Series:

Here’s the TV schedule for the rest of the series (all times Pacific):

Game 4: Tuesday, 5 p.m. at Dodger Stadium | Fox, Fox One, Fox Deportes

Game 5: Wednesday, 5 p.m. at Dodger Stadium | Fox, Fox One, Fox Deportes

*Game 6: Oct. 31, 5 p.m. at Toronto | Fox, Fox One, Fox Deportes

*Game 7: Nov. 1, 5 p.m. at Toronto | Fox, Fox One, Fox Deportes