LOS ANGELES _ The joyous throng gathered around home plate at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, seven hours, 20 minutes after this monstrosity of a baseball game had begun. Never before had a World Series game lasted this long. Never before had a playoff game lasted this long. Never before had the Dodgers experienced a victory quite like their 3-2 walk-off over the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the World Series, an 18-inning agony that ended with sweet relief when Max Muncy launched a solo home run.
The Dodgers crowded the plate as Muncy rounded the bases. Dodger Stadium teetered with delirium. Muncy disappeared inside the throng, having taken Boston pitcher Nathan Eovaldi deep and perhaps tilted the balance of this series. The Dodgers still trail two games to one. But the cost of Boston's pitching decisions may last beyond the initial marathon.
Eovaldi had been listed as Boston's starter for Game 4, scheduled for Saturday evening. Instead he pitched six innings, logging 97 pitches and effectively wiping himself out of consideration for the next two games at Dodger Stadium. The Red Sox may have to turn to seldom-used pitcher Drew Pomeranz for Saturday, when the Dodgers can even the series.
The particulars of Game 3 boggle the mind. The two teams combined to throw 561 pitches. There were more strikeouts (34) than hits (18). Muncy ended the game in his eighth plate appearance of the night.
Muncy almost ended the game three innings earlier when his drive to right field was just wide of the foul pole. That came after the teams traded runs in sloppy but effective fashion in the 13th inning.
In the top of the 13th, the Red Sox took the lead when Dodgers pitcher Scott Alexander and second baseman Enrique Hernandez could not connect on a play at first base. Hernandez slipped at the bag, Alexander's throw sailed beyond his grasp and Boston went ahead.
In the bottom of the frame, facing Eovaldi, the Dodgers tied it with similar fortune. With Muncy at second base, Yasiel Puig hit a grounder toward the right side of the infield. Boston second baseman Ian Kinsler lost his footing and bounced a throw wide of first. Muncy raced home to keep the game alive and make it the longest in World Series history.
A series of excruciating outcomes sent the game into extra innings. The symbol of urgency rose midway through the seventh inning, as the Dodgers clung to a one-run lead against baseball's best offense. Kenley Jansen had logged only a pair of two-inning appearances all season, but the time for caution had long passed. Needing a victory to stall Boston's momentum, manager Dave Roberts turned to his closer.
After seven scoreless innings from Walker Buehler, it was up to Jansen to slam the door. He could not. He served up a tying solo home run to Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. on a 2-0 cutter with two outs in the eighth. Jansen returned for a scoreless ninth, but his mistake ruined a gorgeous outing from Buehler, who struck out seven and permitted two hits in seven scoreless innings.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers squandered an opportunity. One day removed from an 88-pitch start in Game 2, David Price loped into the game. He gave up a leadoff single to Cody Bellinger. Trying to put himself in scoring position, Bellinger got picked off, moments before Yasmani Grandal took a walk. Cora turned to closer Craig Kimbrel, who walked Chris Taylor but got pinch-hitter Brian Dozier to pop up and strand the runners.
The decision to use Dozier was puzzling, with David Freese on the bench. The Dodgers prefer using Freese against left-handed pitchers, but Dozier has been a dud since arriving at the trade deadline. Freese entered the game batting .400 in the postseason. He watched from the dugout as Dozier let the rally fizzle.
Bellinger atoned for his goof in the 10th. Pedro Baez issued a leadoff walk to J.D. Martinez, who was replaced by pinch-runner Kinsler. Kinsler scurried to third on a single by Brock Holt. When Eduardo Nunez flied out to center field, Bellinger settled beneath the baseball and let fly. The throw pulled catcher Austin Barnes up the third base line but arrived in time for Barnes to apply an inning-ending tag.
Alexander entered the game in the 12th, and returned for the 13th. He permitted a leadoff walk to utility man Holt, who stole second. Eduardo Nunez bounced a ball to Alexander, but Hernandez was late to cover and the deadlock disappeared.
The presence of Red Sox starter Rick Porcello, a right-handed pitcher, caused Roberts to start left-handed hitters like Pederson and Bellinger.
The temperature at first pitch was 78 degrees, a 31-degree improvement from the chillier confines at Fenway Park for Game 2. Buehler opened with some heat of his own, amping his fastball up near triple digits in the game's first at-bat against Mookie Betts. Betts gazed at a 99.5-mph heater on the edge of the zone for a called third strike.
The at-bat with Betts lasted eight pitches. Buehler finished off the next man up, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, with a 95-mph cutter, but Bogaerts saw 10 pitches along the way. The 26th pitch of the inning was a 100-mph fastball popped up in left field by first baseman Mitch Moreland. The Red Sox were unable to bully Buehler, but they forced him to expend energy. The trio fouled off 11 pitches in the first.
The Dodgers entered the third inning searching for their first hit since the fourth inning of Game 2. They were in the midst of an 0-for-24 slump when Pederson came to the plate. Pederson had seen nine pitches in his first at-bat, but only required one in his second. Porcello left a change-up over the middle. Pederson hammered a solo shot into the Red Sox bullpen near the right-field pole.
After the first inning, Buehler managed to be more efficient. He finished the fourth inning with 68 pitches on his docket, leaving himself some space to drag the game toward its final third. He ended the fourth by freezing Martinez with a 99-mph fastball on the inner edge of the zone.
The Dodgers' offense stayed quiet through the sixth. The only fireworks emerged from Manny Machado, who smashed a hanging curve but chose to admire his blast, rather than run. The decision looked foolish when the baseball hit the wall. Machado settled for a single, and advanced no farther.
Buehler got through seven innings and stomped off the mound. Then he heard the chants of his name lost inside the maelstrom. He waved his arms upward, just once, an exhortation to raise the volume. The crowd obliged.
Seated just behind the plate was a man who could relate to Buehler's evening. As Buehler left the diamond, Sandy Koufax rose from his seat to applaud. He stayed in his seat when Bradley went deep in the eighth, and the game careened into extra innings.
