11 Surprising Facts From 18 Innings of World Series Game 2 2025

Eighteen innings. Six hours and 39 minutes. Game 3 of the World Series turned into a marathon — a night of baseball that just wouldn’t quit.

Seven years after the Dodgers and Red Sox battled for 18 innings in Los Angeles, history repeated itself. Only this time, it was the Dodgers and Blue Jays keeping fans glued to their seats deep into the night.

World Series Game 4, presented by Capital One: Tonight, 8 ET/5 PT on FOX.

Shohei Ohtani wasn’t just the Dodgers’ Game 4 starter — he was also the star of Game 3, rewriting postseason history with a jaw-dropping offensive performance. Freddie Freeman, meanwhile, provided the final blow, sending everyone home with a dramatic walk-off homer.

After the Dodgers’ 6–5 win, Freeman summed it up best: “Our starting pitcher for tomorrow got on base nine times tonight.”

18 Innings, Again

If this felt familiar, that’s because it was. Another 18-inning epic — but this time, Freeman took the hero role instead of Max Muncy. Fittingly, Freeman also hit a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of last year’s World Series.

His two postseason walk-off homers now tie him with David Ortiz, Carlos Correa, and Bernie Williams for the most all-time. But Freeman stands alone as the only player to do it twice in the World Series.

The Dodgers now have four walk-off home runs in World Series history, tying the Yankees for the most by any team. No one else even has two.

Numbers for the Ages

This game wasn’t just long — it was record-breaking.

• 19 pitchers were used between both teams — the most ever in a postseason game.
• 609 total pitches were thrown, shattering the previous postseason record by 48.
• 6 hours and 39 minutes of play made it the second-longest postseason game ever, just behind the seven-hour, 20-minute marathon in 2018.
• 37 runners left on base, another postseason record, six more than any other game.
• Eighteen innings tied the all-time postseason record, matching the legendary marathon games from 2005, 2014, 2018, and 2022 — and, just like those, this one ended with a home run in the final frame.

The Shohei Show

Shohei Ohtani didn’t just have a good night — he made history.

• He reached base nine times, breaking the all-time postseason record by three. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that also tied the MLB record for any game — regular or postseason. The only other players ever to do that: Stan Hack (1942), Johnny Burnett (1932), and Max Carey (1922).
• Ohtani’s first four plate appearances? All extra-base hits — tying Frank Isbell’s 1906 record for most in a World Series game. Two of those were home runs, marking his third multihomer game this postseason — something no player had ever done before.
• He also racked up 12 total bases, matching his total from NLCS Game 4. No one else in MLB history has had multiple postseason games with at least 12 total bases. The only player even close is Babe Ruth, who did it twice — in his entire career.

A Reluctant Pitcher’s Nightmare

• After Ohtani’s early fireworks, Toronto had seen enough. He was walked five times — four of them intentionally. That made him the first player ever to be intentionally walked four times in a postseason game.
• Even wilder: three of those intentional walks came with no one on base. The only other player to be intentionally walked with the bases empty in a World Series game? Albert Pujols, back in 2011.
• Those walks brought Ohtani’s postseason total to eight intentional walks, tying him with 2011 Pujols for second-most all-time, behind only Barry Bonds’ absurd 13 in 2002.
• And with eight home runs this postseason, Ohtani matched Corey Seager’s Dodgers record (2020) for the most in a single playoff run. The only player with more? Randy Arozarena, who hit 10 that same year. No one has ever hit more from the leadoff spot.

The Aftermath

Game 3 will be remembered not just for its length, but for the sheer number of milestones crammed into it. A marathon battle stretching into the early hours. A two-way superstar rewriting the record books. A veteran slugger walking it off, again. As the series rolls into Game 4, the Dodgers have momentum — and the baseball world has a game that will be talked about for decades.