Game three of the 2018 was the longest ever. And in terms of innings, it broke the previous record set in 1916 in a World Series between the Red Sox and Dodgers. Them again?
The Los Angeles Dodgers came home for the third contest in the 2018 Fall Classic with a pair of losses to show for their Fenway Park visit (8-4 and 4-2). So they needed a win, or be faced with the possibility of a sweep.
Well, the Boston Red Sox weren't about to let them just have the game, were they?
The home team struck first and Joc Pederson hit a solo shot in the last of the third. The way Walker Buehler was pitching for the Dodgers, one run seemed like enough. Buehler went seven innings. He did not allow a run. Could Los Angeles' bullpen hold the fort?
Kenley Jansen came in to pitch the top of the eighth. Six more outs. Kenley got the first two batters out. Four more outs. But then, Jackie Bradley tied the game with a solo home run of his own for Boston! And it stayed that way for a while.
In the top of the thirteenth, the Red Sox took the lead on a walk, a steak of second, and a single by Eduardo Nunez! Suddenly, it was Boston three outs away from a 3-0 lead in the World Series. But the home team wasn't about to pack it in for the night. Nope. The thirteenth was not an unlucky inning after all for the Dodgers, who scored a run in a very unusual sequence.
Max Muncy walked. The next two Los Angeles batters had no luck. 2 outs. But the second out actually advanced Muncy to second base. Cody Bellinger had popped to third. But in foul territory. The momentum of the catch carried Eduardo Nunez, the Boston third sacker, right into the stands. Seeing all this, Muncy was able to get to second base!
This was crucial, as Yasiel Puig singled up the middle. The ball didn't actually make it to the outfield, but in the end, Muncy scored. How, you ask? Well, Red Sox second basemen Ian Kinsler made the stop backhanded. But his throw to first was way to the left. Christian Vazquez, the first basemen, could not get to it. Max motored on home! Wow! 2-2, end of 13.
Well, the game continued, as many-a-pitcher came in to throw, but ended up putting the number "Zero" on the scoreboard. This continued on, if you can believe it, until the bottom of the eighteenth. The game had become essentially a doubleheader.
That's when Max Muncy came back up. Again, as in the bottom of the thirteenth, he was leading off. On the mound was Boston's ninth pitch of the ballgame, Nathan Eovaldi. He was working his seventh inning of relief. The count went full. And then Max delivered. He launched one over to the left-field corner. It went...Out! Hey! Los Angeles had that elusive win, 3-2!
Boston wasn't through, though. They took game four, 9-6 to put Los Angeles on the brink. But even if the Red Sox win game five and wrap this thing up, let their be no doubt: Any long, marathon game from here on in, during the World Series, will be, "Like that one in LA!"
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Highlight, Heaven. “Boston Red Sox vs. LA Dodgers World Series Game 3 Highlights | MLB 2018.” YouTube, YouTube, MLB, 27 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILKn8gutsN0.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 28 Oct. 2018.
Weinstein, Arthur. “World Series 2018: Red Sox, Dodgers Set Records For Longest Game In Series History.” Sporting News, Perform Media, 27 Oct. 2018, Web, 28 Oct. 2018. <www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/world-series-2018-red-sox-dodgers-epic-game-3-record-longest-game-world-series-history/1m58pjrmr5wgq1elwkf7f31kqr>.
The Los Angeles Dodgers came home for the third contest in the 2018 Fall Classic with a pair of losses to show for their Fenway Park visit (8-4 and 4-2). So they needed a win, or be faced with the possibility of a sweep.
Well, the Boston Red Sox weren't about to let them just have the game, were they?
The home team struck first and Joc Pederson hit a solo shot in the last of the third. The way Walker Buehler was pitching for the Dodgers, one run seemed like enough. Buehler went seven innings. He did not allow a run. Could Los Angeles' bullpen hold the fort?
Kenley Jansen came in to pitch the top of the eighth. Six more outs. Kenley got the first two batters out. Four more outs. But then, Jackie Bradley tied the game with a solo home run of his own for Boston! And it stayed that way for a while.
In the top of the thirteenth, the Red Sox took the lead on a walk, a steak of second, and a single by Eduardo Nunez! Suddenly, it was Boston three outs away from a 3-0 lead in the World Series. But the home team wasn't about to pack it in for the night. Nope. The thirteenth was not an unlucky inning after all for the Dodgers, who scored a run in a very unusual sequence.
Max Muncy walked. The next two Los Angeles batters had no luck. 2 outs. But the second out actually advanced Muncy to second base. Cody Bellinger had popped to third. But in foul territory. The momentum of the catch carried Eduardo Nunez, the Boston third sacker, right into the stands. Seeing all this, Muncy was able to get to second base!
This was crucial, as Yasiel Puig singled up the middle. The ball didn't actually make it to the outfield, but in the end, Muncy scored. How, you ask? Well, Red Sox second basemen Ian Kinsler made the stop backhanded. But his throw to first was way to the left. Christian Vazquez, the first basemen, could not get to it. Max motored on home! Wow! 2-2, end of 13.
Well, the game continued, as many-a-pitcher came in to throw, but ended up putting the number "Zero" on the scoreboard. This continued on, if you can believe it, until the bottom of the eighteenth. The game had become essentially a doubleheader.
That's when Max Muncy came back up. Again, as in the bottom of the thirteenth, he was leading off. On the mound was Boston's ninth pitch of the ballgame, Nathan Eovaldi. He was working his seventh inning of relief. The count went full. And then Max delivered. He launched one over to the left-field corner. It went...Out! Hey! Los Angeles had that elusive win, 3-2!
Boston wasn't through, though. They took game four, 9-6 to put Los Angeles on the brink. But even if the Red Sox win game five and wrap this thing up, let their be no doubt: Any long, marathon game from here on in, during the World Series, will be, "Like that one in LA!"
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Highlight, Heaven. “Boston Red Sox vs. LA Dodgers World Series Game 3 Highlights | MLB 2018.” YouTube, YouTube, MLB, 27 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILKn8gutsN0.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Weinstein, Arthur. “World Series 2018: Red Sox, Dodgers Set Records For Longest Game In Series History.” Sporting News, Perform Media, 27 Oct. 2018, Web, 28 Oct. 2018. <www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/world-series-2018-red-sox-dodgers-epic-game-3-record-longest-game-world-series-history/1m58pjrmr5wgq1elwkf7f31kqr>.
No comments:
Post a Comment