Dodgers and Blue Jays break World Series records in marathon 18-inning game

Announcer:

Fifty in Los Angeles.

(Cheering)

Announcer:

Freeman sends a fly ball to center field. Varsho is going back. Before the clock strikes midnight, Freddie Freeman has ended it! It's a repeat hero!

Amna Nawaz:

That is the walk-off home run that ended last night's 18, yes, 18 innings, instant classic World Series matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. The game, the second longest in postseason history, saw a record 19 pitchers take the mound, with Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hitting two home runs and reaching base nine times.

Geoff Bennett:

Many in the sports world are calling it one of the greatest postseason baseball games of all time.

Stephanie Sy is here with more.

Stephanie Sy:

That's right, Geoff and Amna.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called it one of the greatest World Series games. This matchup seemed to have everything over its 609 pitches, close calls, amazing plays at the play, star turns from some unlikely heroes and a historymaking performance from baseball's greatest.

Announcer:

Location is the most important thing.

Announcer:

Ohtani. Oh, on a center-cut fastball blasts one! He ties it! Shohei!

Stephanie Sy:

And, tonight, the two teams are back at it in L.A. for game four. The Dodgers now lead 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

To help us make sense of the emotional roller coaster some of us went through last night, we're joined now by sportswriter Joe Posnanski, author of "Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments."

Joe, welcome to the "News Hour."

So I know you and I both watched this game last night, but for those that didn't stay up to watch six hours and 39 minutes of baseball, how would you describe this epic game?

Joe Posnanski, Sportswriter:

Yes, I'm not sure we're going to be able to make a lot of sense out of it because it was something. It was weird and wild and filled with errors and filled with greatness and history. I mean, it was a truly, truly epic night of baseball from beginning to end.

And there are just all sorts of things that just have never happened before, starting, of course, with Shohei Ohtani.

Stephanie Sy:

Yes, well, let's break down the game a bit, starting with Ohtani, who delivered yet another record-setting night. I am out of words, but maybe you have some.

Joe Posnanski:

No, I'm out. I'm completely out of words. I mean, here's a guy in this game who, he gets on base nine times in the game. It's literally never happened before in World Series, 1940-something.

I mean, it's bizarre. And this guy who not only gets on base nine times, hits two home runs, including the game-tying home run that sent us into this crazy 18-inning game. That guy's pitching tonight. He's pitching. There are no words to sort of describe something because it's literally never happened before.

And this guy is — I think it's just very clear he's the greatest baseball player who's ever lived. And now he's so good that, for most of that game, they wouldn't even pitch to him. They intentionally walked him four times, sort of unintentionally, but intentionally walked him another time.

They are very clear and saying that they might not pitch to him ever again in this entire season. I mean, this is something we haven't seen before.

Stephanie Sy:

I got to ask about this intentional walk strategy from the Blue Jays. Are you saying, Joe, that it is possible for the rest of this series, we do not get to see Shohei Ohtani back at bat?

And how is that even a thing?

Joe Posnanski:

It should definitely not be a thing. No, it's — of course, it's something I personally, as a baseball writer and fan, have been railing against forever.

But this is how good this guy is. I mean, honestly, Blue Jays fans this morning were not saying, hey, we walked Shohei Ohtani too much. They were saying we walked him too little because they gave up the two home runs. Everybody — nobody wants to pitch to him. I mean, that's how good he is.

And, no, it shouldn't be a thing. I mean, baseball should definitely have a stronger punishment for teams that intentionally walk players. I have been — I have been pushing and railing for that forever. It's not likely. It hasn't happened in 125 years. I don't know that it will happen, but I do know that if baseball fans watch the rest of the series and don't get to see Shohei Ohtani hit, yes, yes, the rule changes might be coming.

Stephanie Sy:

All right, let's talk about another record set by the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman. We showed the walk-off home run from last night just moments ago. That made him the first MLB player to hit multiple game-ending home runs after we saw him, of course, do that in game one of last year's World Series, that unforgettable grand slam.

What are the odds of that? I mean, you saw that buildup going up to the 18th inning that, like, Mookie Betts had a chance. You were — you — Will had a chance.

Joe Posnanski:

Right.

Stephanie Sy:

You weren't sure who it was going to be. Did you think it could be Freeman? And what's, like, the poetic justice in the fact that it was?

Joe Posnanski:

Well, I mean, first of all, the odds of somebody hitting two walk-off home runs in the World Series, ending games with home runs, it's — it'll never happen again. I don't think we will ever see this again. All night, it felt like anybody could be the hero.

That's what's so fun about a game like this. The hero could be somebody who's going to the Hall of Fame like Freddie Freeman. It could be somebody who's playing in his — one of his first games ever. I mean, that's the beauty of the postseason, is that the heroes and the goats and all of the central figures really could be anybody.

Stephanie Sy:

Yes.

And when you talk about that, I think about what ended up happening with 10 pitchers for the Dodgers over the course of the night and seeing guys from the bullpen like Will Klein and Edgardo Henriquez. They took the mound last night in those late innings. I didn't even recognize them. I mean, do they deserve some credit?

I mean, they literally used every player out of that bullpen. And I don't think there were super high expectations for them.

Joe Posnanski:

No, they're — there really weren't. And they don't just deserve credit. They're heroes of this game. I mean, you look at Will Klein. Will Klein has pitched one time in the last month. I mean, the Dodgers do not — I mean, he's young and the Dodgers do not — he's not in their rotation.

He's not in their group of pitchers that they're going to throw out there. And he comes in and pitches a scoreless inning, which is more than anybody could have expected. Then he pitches a second scoreless inning, then he pitches a third scoreless inning, and then he pitches a fourth. He actually ends up winning the game.

And that's what I mean when heroes can come from anywhere. This is a guy who's already been traded four times, three times. He's a guy that nobody even expected to pitch in this World Series, much less pitch in such a dramatic moment. And he comes through like that. I mean, that's just a beautiful thing to see.

Stephanie Sy:

It was a crazy night, and I'm not even going to have time to mention the fact that we saw Clayton Kershaw make an appearance in the 12th inning.

Instead, I want to ask you about the Blue Jays and how they're doing because they do seem to be giving the Dodgers a run for their money, of course, led by Canadian Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who's under a $500 million contract. What props, if any, would you give to him for getting the Blue Jays to this point? And going into tonight's game, game four, do you see any opportunities for the Blue Jays to change the momentum?

Joe Posnanski:

Well, there are plenty of opportunities. There really are. I mean, it's so easy to get caught up in the moment, 18 innings. You lose such a heartbreaking game, momentum, all of those things.

But the reality is, if they win, this series is locked up at two. The series is definitely going to go back to Toronto. And Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is at the heart of this. I mean, he has been legendary this postseason. I mean, everybody's getting overshadowed by Shohei Ohtani.

But, really, the best guy throughout the playoffs, when you begin — from the beginning to now, has been Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and he absolutely could wreck the Dodgers' dreams tonight and going forward. But here's what they have got to do tonight. They have got to beat Shohei Ohtani on the mound. And that's — first of all, that's a very difficult thing to do.

But second of all, Ohtani seems to be ascending even higher to the mountaintop. I don't know that there's any way to touch him the way he's been playing baseball. So that's going to be super fun to watch.

Stephanie Sy:

Absolutely.

Joe Posnanski, author of "Why We Love Baseball," thank you so much.

Joe Posnanski:

Thank you.