Freddy Freeman hit a walk-off HR in the 18th inning of World Series Game 3.

Dodger Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched his second postseason complete game, striking out 8 in Game 2

The Toronto Blue Jays teed off on Dodger pitching in Game 1, winning,11-4.

It took six hours, 39 minutes and 18 innings to decide Game 3 of the 2025 World Series of Major League Baseball, and when it was over, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the victors over the Toronto Blue Jays by the final score of 6-5. This contest was finally decided on a titanic game-winning, walk-off home run by Freddie Freeman that will go down as one of the greatest moments in the history of the grand old game.

To start, this game will resonate in history for the agony and ecstasy it provided to every viewer who watched it from beginning to end, including this bleary-eyed reporter who stayed up until the early-morning hours to write this story.

The historical account of this game is as follows: Shohei Ohtani reached base a record nine times with four hits, two home runs, two doubles (the first player to have four extra-base hits in a World Series game since Cecil Isbell in 1906), and five walks, four of them intentional. His Dodgers team went ahead 2-0, and trailed 4-2 before tying the game at 5-5 on Ohtani’s second home run of the contest, in the seventh inning.

He became the first player in MLB history with seven postseason home runs from the leadoff spot and the first player to reach base nine times in a game (regular or postseason) since 1900. In between his heroics, there was some bad baseball played in the form of errors, poor base running and exhaustingly bad situational hitting.

But there were also moments of high-quality baseball that kept viewers on the edge of their seats. And there were heroes, one of the biggest being little-known relief pitcher Will Klein; a late addition to the Dodgers World Series roster, who pitched four innings of scoreless baseball (on a career-high 72 pitches) and became the winning pitcher of this epic battle when first baseman Freeman blasted a 3-2 pitch from Blue Jay reliever Brandon Little over the centerfield wall to bring an end to the longest World Series game in baseball history (tied with the Dodgers 18-inning win over the Boston Red Sox in the 2018 World Series).

Historical note: Freeman is the first player in World Series history to have two walk-off game-winning home runs. In a game that went 18 innings, with 609 pitches thrown by 19 pitchers, 37 runners left on base and 25 in scoring position, it all came down to one swing of the bat by Freeman to give his Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Side Note: All this came on the day that his teammate Mookie Betts was named this year’s recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his community work.

Postgame thoughts from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Blue Jays manager John Schneider.

Roberts: “I am proud of how my team kept fighting throughout this game. They just refused to lose. There are many heroes to this win, and each deserves his share of credit.”

From Shohei to Freeman to Klein, who placed his name in Dodger lore with his work today.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider: “I know my team is devastated by this loss, but I am incredibly proud of how they fought from start to finish in this game.”

A key element of this series that needs discussion is the injury to Blue Jays leadoff hitter George Springer (a pulled oblique muscle from a swing-and-miss) that forced him from the game. The severity of his injury could sideline him from further participation in this World Series.

A breakdown of this series to date

The Dodgers were idle for a few days after they swept the Milwaukee Brewers, while the Blue Jays won a grueling series against the Seattle Mariners in seven games. Blake Snell took the mound for LA in Game 1 but was lifted in the sixth inning with the bases loaded. The Blue Jays proceed to score nine runs, including an Addison Barger first-pitch grand slam and a two-run homer by Alejandro Kirk. The Jays won Game 1 going away 11-4.

The Dodgers won Game 2 by a final score of 5-1 behind the stellar pitching of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The right-hander threw his second consecutive postseason complete game, allowing only one run while striking out eight. Will Smith and Max Muncy helped LA secure the victory with solo home runs in Toronto.