Freddie Freeman Delivers 18th-Inning Walk-Off in World Series Game Three

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October 28, 2025

World Series, Game 3: Dodgers 6, Blue Jays 5 (18 Innings)

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in a grueling 18-inning marathon in Game Three of the World Series, capped by Freddie Freeman‘s walkoff home run after six hours and 39 minutes. This game dethroned the 18-inning World Series Game Three in 2018, which the Dodgers also won.

Freeman’s heroics give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the series, delivering a dramatic ending to nearly seven hours of tension and high-stakes play. Game Three saw outstanding performances on both sides, with solid pitching and defense keeping both teams scoreless in extra innings until Freeman’s decisive hit.

Dodgers-Blue Jays Game Summary

Teoscar Hernandez put the Dodgers on the board first with a solo shot to left field in the second inning. Shohei Ohtani followed up with a solo homer of his own in the next inning. Down 2-0 in the fourth, Alejandro Kirk took the lead with a three-run shot, putting the Blue Jays ahead. Andres Gimenez added one more run with a sacrifice fly that drove in Addison Barger, making the score 4-2.

In the bottom of the fifth, Ohtani hit an RBI double that scored Kiké Hernandez. Freeman singled next, bringing Ohtani home, evening the score. The Blue Jays struck in the seventh when Dave Roberts decided to pull Justin Wrobleski in favor of having Blake Treinen face the slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Guerrero singled to center field, and then scored on a single from Bo Bichette to put the Blue Jays back on top.

In the next half inning, Ohtani came through again in the clutch for the Dodgers, hitting a solo home run to center field to tie the game at five apiece. That would be the final run for both teams until Freddie’s 18-inning homer, giving the Dodgers a 6-5 victory.

What Went Right for the Blue Jays

Pitching Resilience

After the seventh inning, the Blue Jays’ pitching staff did not allow a single run until the unfortunate walk-off home run. The bullpen delivered in high-leverage situations and provided the offense multiple chances to make something happen.

What Went Wrong for the Blue Jays

Bad Baserunning

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The Blue Jays squandered scoring opportunities with sloppy baserunning. In the 10th, with a runner on first, Nathan Lukes hit a double. With two outs, the Blue Jays gambled and sent Davis Schneider home, where he was thrown out after a perfect relay from the Dodgers. With Guerrero Jr up next, it was a head-scratching decision to send the runner.

Questionable Managerial Decisions

Manager John Schneider pinch-hit and pinch-ran a lot of his star players late in the game. He had Isiah Kiner-Falefa pinch-run for Bichette in the seventh, and had Myles Straw pinch-run for Barger in the eighth. When Alejandro Kirk got a hit in the 12th, he also took him out for a pinch-runner. Collectively, those three batters were 6-for-10 and responsible for three runs. Their replacements were 0-for-11. It seemed John Schneider was hedging his bet on the winning run on base instead of sustaining offensive production with his top hitters.

What Went Right for the Dodgers

Sho-Time in the Clutch

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Ohtani had a great performance, going 4-for-4 with two home runs. He did so well that in extra innings, the Blue Jays took him out of the equation, electing to intentionally walk him four consecutive times. When they finally decided to pitch to him, he was walked for a fifth time. This gave Shohei Ohtani the World Series record and tied the MLB record for times on base at nine.

Relief Comes Through

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The Dodgers’ bullpen came through when it mattered most in Game Three. The bullpen has been their weak point all year, but in this contest, multiple relievers combined to keep the Blue Jays scoreless. The Blue Jays were shut out for 11 straight innings.

The Dodgers exhausted all available arms, and they delivered, keeping the Blue Jays out of scoring position for most of the extra innings. Will Klein had an especially great performance as well, pitching 4.0 IP, 1H, 0ER, 5K, 2 BB. A pitcher who had never thrown more than 36 pitches all year and had never thrown more than two innings in an MLB game doubled his amount of pitches thrown this season to the tune of four scoreless innings.

In a postgame interview, Dave Roberts praised Klein’s outing: “He delivered. He threw probably three times as much as he’s ever thrown before, and certainly with the adrenaline on this stage what he did was incredible. That’s not even enough of a credit to him on this outing.”

Quick Hits

Shohei Ohtani became the first player with three multi-homerun games in the postseason.
Ohtani’s third intentional walk of the night made him the first player to reach base safely seven times in a postseason game, finishing the game reaching base nine times.
Freddie Freeman joins Goose Goslin as the only players to have multiple World Series walk-off hits.
The two teams combined to leave 37 runners stranded on base, which is a new World Series record.

Looking Ahead

Win: Will Klein Loss: Brendon Little

The Dodgers and Blue Jays play Game Four at Dodger Stadium less than 18 hours after the conclusion of this 18-inning classic. With a 2-1 lead in the series, the Dodgers hope to take a commanding 3-1 lead on Tuesday. It will be a righty battle, Shohei Ohtani taking the mound for the Dodgers and Shane Bieber for the Blue Jays. First pitch is slated for 5:08 PM PDT.