Dodgers Dugout: Recapping Game 3 (thank you Freddie Freeman and Will Klein)
Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell.
That was an incredible game.
Game 3 thoughts:
—Brad Paisley sang the U.S. national anthem. JP Saxe sang the Canadian national anthem. Apparently Bruce Springsteen and Paul Shaffer were unavailable.
—Hideo Nomo threw out the first pitch. If Lance Rautzhan was still alive, I’m sure it would have been him.
First inning
—Tyler Glasnow has to limit walks. Runners can steal on him and things could get out of hand in a hurry.
—I really could have lived without seeing highlights of George Springer in the 2017 World Series.
—Eight pitches to get out of the top of the first. That’s great.
—Leadoff double for Shohei Ohtani, which is a good sign. If he starts hitting again…..
—Now if only Freddie Freeman could get going.
Second inning
—Dodgers got a break there. A verrrrry slooooow strike call and Bo Bichette thought it was ball four and got picked off first. You have to wait for the call. Of course, we’d all be a lot more irate if it happened to the Dodgers.
—Two hits and a walk, and no runs scored.
—This is why you leave Teoscar Hernández alone. Yes, he looks terrible with four strikeouts in one game, but the next game he homers in his first at-bat.
Third inning
—Mookie Betts has become one of the best fielding shortstops in baseball. It’s so amazing to watch. To move to shortstop later in your career and excel is virtually unheard of.
—It may be time to give Alex Call a shot in the lineup in place of Andy Pages.
—Ohtani is back. He doesn’t get cheated on his home runs.
—Middle infielders need to learn to keep the tag on the runner in case his foot bounces off the bag. A few outs seem to be missed that way. Freeman’s foot bounced off the bag on his steal and he would have been out if Bichette maintained the tag.
—Dino Ebel gambles a lot at third base. There’s no way Freeman was going to score on a hard hit ball to Addison Barger, who has one of the best arms in the game. Keep him at third, and run up Max Scherzer‘s pitch count. This could be important later.
Fourth inning
—Tommy Edman’s error was the first error of the series for either team.
—And it proved costly.
—You can’t give good teams extra outs, especially in the postseason.
—And then in the bottom half, the Dodgers go down quietly. This all stemmed from Freeman being thrown out at home. Ebel never should have sent him.
Fifth inning
—It seemed to be a struggle all night for Glasnow. He has erratic control, and that’s deadly against a team like Toronto. Now we go to the porous Dodger bullpen. Can they hold Toronto? If so, the Dodgers can come back. If not, this game could get ugly quickly.
—Anthony Banda is first man up. And he did fine to end the inning.
—I love the ad with Ken Griffey Jr. playing the organ. I mean, it no Limu Emu (and Doug) but it’s very good.
—Bringing in a left-hander to face Ohtani. Can he respond?
—He does. And that’s why he’s the best player in baseball.
—Freeman comes through too. Blue Jays manager John Schneider brought in Mason Fluharty to get Ohtani and Freeman, hoping he could also get Mookie Betts. Instead, he gets Betts, but can’t retire Ohtani or Freeman. Sometimes you can push all the right buttons and it doesn’t work.
—I wonder if Blue Jays fans are yelling at Schneider right now.
—I’m just glad Schneider was able to find work again after “Smallville” was canceled.
—Wait, I’m being told that’s a different John Schneider. No wonder Tom Welling isn’t one of his coaches.
Sixth inning
—Justin Wrobleski in to pitch now. Another left-hander. Why not stick with Banda? Playing three games in three days may have something to do with it.
—Maybe they can count on Wrobleski now too.
—Inning ends on another nice play by Betts.
—I also like the Bateman, not Batman, commercials. I’ve liked Jason Bateman ever since one of his first roles in the sitcom “It’s Your Move.”
—Great play by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base throwing Teoscar out at third. But some bad baserunning. No need to take that chance with two out. That’s twice the Dodgers have run themselves out of an inning. What would have happened in those inning otherwise? We’ll never know.
Seventh inning
—George Springer hurt himself on a swing. Don’t like Springer, but I don’t want anyone to be injured. People cheering when he was taken off should be embarrassed.
—Hey, Blake Treinen came in and let the Blue Jays get ahead. Who would have guessed.
—I guess Dave Roberts is never going to give up on Treinen. I know they don’t have a lot of right-handed options, buy what about Will Klein. I mean, we KNOW what Treinen is going to do at this point. Maybe we can find another budding star. And if he can’t do it, you get him out quickly just like you did Treinen.
—This Ohtani guy is pretty good.
—My wife: “Why is he always up with the bases empty. Drop him down in the lineup.”
—Here’s a great thing about Ohtani. People told him “You can’t hit and pitch, you have to pick one.” And he refused to listen. Not to get over saccharine here, but you can apply that to your life, and it’s a great lesson for kids. If you have a dream, don’t let people tell you the many reasons you can’t do it. You never know unless you try,
Most home runs in one postseason:
2020 Randy Arozarena, 10
2025 Shohei Ohtani, 8
2023 Adolis Garcia, 8
2020 Corey Seager, 8
2011 Nelson Cruz, 8
2004 Carlos Beltrán, 8
2002 Barry Bonds, 8
Eighth inning
—Jack Dreyer, last seen when Don Mattingly was the manager, now pitching.
—And just like that, Dreyer gives up two hits and is done. We’ll see him again in 10 years.
—It’s nice, and sad, to see the Dodgers wearing a No. 51 on their caps to show support for Alex Vesia.
—Roki Sasaki always looks scared. He’s not, he just has that look.
—A bobble by Max Muncy stops a possible double play. That could be important.
—Sasaki gets out of it. The Dodgers are now out of reliable relievers. They better score in the bottom of the eighth.
—That Amazon commercial where the teenage daughter walks in on her dad exercising in shorts that don’t fit right is a little creepy.
—Samuel L. Jackson is great in everything.
—Chris Bassitt pitching for the Blue Jays.
—The Dodgers go down meekly.
—The heart of the Blue Jays lineup bats in the ninth. Big inning. If the Dodgers get out of it, I think they will win.
Ninth inning
—Sasaki gets Guerrero, then pitches to Isiah Kiner-Falefa like he’s Babe Ruth and walks him.
—Great, great play by Tommy Edman, redeeming his earlier error.
—Great at-bat by Andy Pages with a poor ending.
—Intentionally walking Ohtani with the bases empty. Wow.
—And that’s why you hold the tag. And that’s why analytics hates stolen bases.
—We go to the tenth. The two best teams in baseball, battling it out in extra innings. This is fun, folks.
Tenth inning
—Emmet Sheehan in the game. He has been terrible this postseason. Can he turn things around?
—More bad baserunning, this time by the Blue Jays. Davis Schneider had no chance to score on that, and Guerrero was on deck.
—Sheehan got hit hard. Does he come back out in the 11th if there is an 11th?
—Dodgers strand runners on first and second. We go to the 11th. And I can’t find my asthma inhaler.
Eleventh inning
—What a great game.
—Sheehan looked like the old Emmet Sheehan there.
—Braydon Fisher now pitching for the Blue Jays. The Dodgers traded Fisher to the Blue Jays on June 12, 2024, for the immortal Cavan Biggio, who is now with the Angels. Biggio played in 30 games for the Dodgers, hitting .192 and getting himself a World Series ring.
—Kiké Hernández has been very quiet this World Series.
—They walk Ohtani again with the bases loaded. This is against the spirit of the game. They should make a new rule: Walk a batter with the bases empty and he automatically gets placed on second.
—Ohtani has reached base every at bat. You have to wonder if this will be a problem tomorrow when he pitches.
—The Dodgers have wasted a lot of scoring opportunities.
—Where is my asthma inhaler?
Twelfth inning
—Sheehan is in there again. Clayton Kershaw is warming up. Are the baseball gods conspiring to get Kershaw into one more World Series game?
—The Dodgers walk the No. 9 hitter. You don’t see that often. Will they regret it? Giménez hit worse that Schneider during the season.
—And here comes Kershaw. Bases loaded, two out. Twelfth inning. No pressure at all.
—The baseball gods have set this up for Kershaw to get one more World Series win. Now the Dodgers need to score in the bottom half.
—Ellen Kershaw‘s reaction had more emotion than most two-hour movies.
—If Kershaw never pitches again, that was a great moment to go out on.
—Will Smith tried to win it for Kershaw with a couple of home run swings.
—Another left-hander comes in, Eric Lauer, who was a starter until Shane Bieber (the Game 4 starter) came off the IL.
—And the Dodgers go down quietly.
—Seriously, I think the dog took my asthma inhaler.
Thirteenth inning
—Edgardo Henriquez, who has not retired a batter this postseason and has an ERA of infinity, is now pitching.
—The Dodger Stadium crowd is very quiet and sounds tired. Must be thinking about that hour wait in the parking lot while trying to go home.
—Leadoff double is just what the Dodgers needed.
—And look at Miguel Rojas. Hasn’t played all series and lays down a perfect bunt.
—Now Alex Call, who rarely plays. Can he be the hero?
—Man on third, one out. You have to score here.
—And of course they are going to walk Ohtani.
—And they walk Betts intentionally too. Wow. Pitching to Freeman with the bases loaded.
—And the Dodgers fail to cash in. Freeman is not having a good series.
—I think maybe my grandson hid my inhaler.
Fourteenth inning
—Rojas and Call stay in the game. Henriquez back on the mound. Will Klein is the only reliever left.
—Henriquez has looked good, but how long can he pitch?
—That foul ball by Giménez hit both of his legs. Baseball players must have tons of bruises at the end of the season. And it’s amazing that catchers can even walk.
—Someone on the Dodgers just needs to hit a home run and end this.
—And Will Smith came close.
—You know what Fox should do? Go around before the game and find some normal, average people at the game. Ask them their name and where they are from. Then, instead of showing the celebrities, “Justin Bieber is here. Sean Hayes is here,” say “Henry Blake from Lancaster is here with his wife Lorraine.” “Sherman Potter is here from Carson with his wife Mildred.”
—And Muncy came close before walking.
—Dieter Ruehle’s fingers must be cramping by now.
—Tommy Edman has not been Tommy Tanks so far this postseason.
—And we go to the fifteenth. I believe a UFO flew down and teleported my inhaler away.
Fifteenth inning
—Will Klein now pitching for the Dodgers, who are now out of relievers. The Blue Jays are out of position players.
—The terrible Dodgers bullpen has been incredible tonight. 10.1 innings, 10 hits, four walks, eight strikeouts, one run. Now I’ve probably jinxed them, so they better score now.
—If Call reaches first, would they walk Ohtani intentionally?
—We won’t find out. He grounded to second.
—And they walked Ohtani again. He has reached base all eight of his plate appearances.
—Betts and Freeman need to cash this in.
—They do not. We go to the 16th. The record for longest World Series game is 18 by the Dodgers and Red Sox in 2018.
—We go to the 16th. I’ve given up on finding my asthma inhaler. I’ll just go ahead and pass out.
Sixteenth inning
—A lot of people are going to call out sick to work tomorrow.
—This has reminded me why I don’t obsess over every Dodger win or loss during the season. I get paid to watch and write about it. Truly a blessed life.
—Klein looks like a guy who should be higher on the Dave Roberts trust tree.
—According to the Fox telecast, the Dodgers will bring in a position player after Klein pitches the next inning. That would be very sad to see.
—Sixteen innings, and Hyeseong Kim still can’t get in a game.
—Dodgers are going down very quietly every inning.
Seventeenth inning
—You can’t say enough about this performance by Klein. Three innings, one hit, four strikeouts.
—If it’s true the Dodgers are bringing in a position player to pitch the next inning, then they really need to score now.
—Yoshinobu Yamamoto has volunteered to pitch the next inning. Will they need him?
—Brendon Little now pitching for the Blue Jays. He is their last reliever.
—Call singles. Will they walk Ohtani?
—They basically walked him. Didn’t give him anything to hit. Pitched around him.
—Again, the Dodgers can’t cash in. Who pitches the 18th?
—I need to shave again.
Eighteenth inning
—Klein’s arm must be about to fall off. His fastball is a couple miles per hour slower this inning. If the Dodgers win it all, he certainly earned his World Series ring.
—Kiner-Falefa was out at first.
—You’d think with all the power on these teams, someone would have hit one out. Must be a marine layer at the game.
—Klein’s career high in pitches is 36. He made 72 tonight.
—Max Muncy bats third this inning. He won the last, and previously the only 18-inning game with a home run in the bottom half of … Game 3 … against Boston in 2018.
—But we don’t need to wait for him. Freeman comes up big once again. He has cemented his Hall of Fame status the last two seasons.
—What an incredible game. Incredible. With the best ending, unless you are a Toronto fan. Two great teams. It seemed every player had a moment. Two bad bullpens were dominant.
—They get to do it again in a few hours.
—For those keeping track of this (and I appreciate the emails from those who are), Hannah and Mason were not in their assigned spots for the game, but came home in the 14th inning, and then the Dodgers won.
—My prediction remains, Dodgers in five.
—More important, we wish Alex Vesia and his wife the best as they go through a trying time.
In case you missed it
Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer lifts Dodgers to 18-inning win in World Series Game 3
What are your superstitions and lucky items to help the Dodgers win the World Series?
Mookie Betts on winning the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award
Shaikin: What are the motives behind Frank McCourt’s Dodger Stadium gondola plan?
Hernández: Don Mattingly reveals why his Dodgers managerial career ended a decade ago
Dodgers keep Andy Pages in Game 3 starting lineup; Shohei Ohtani laughs off Toronto chants
And finally
Freddie Freeman walks it off for the Dodgers, again. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
প্রকাশিত: 2025-10-28 19:55:00
উৎস: www.latimes.com
