Max Muncy hit a walk-off home run against the Boston Red Sox in the 18th inning of Game 3 of the 2018 World Series on this day in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
Muncy’s homer capped off the longest game in World Series history, both by time (7 hours, 20 minutes) and number of innings played. The marathon spanned over parts of two separate days as Game 3 began at Dodger Stadium on October 26, only to finish in the early morning hours of Oct. 27.
The play was selected by the Los Angeles Sports Council’s Media Panel as one of the nominations for the greatest moment of 2018.
The walk-off homer is only the second in Dodgers franchise history in the World Series, with the first being Kirk Gibson’s during Game 1 in 1988.
Several hours before Muncy sent Dodger Stadium into a frenzy, the Dodgers took an early lead on Joc Pederson’s solo home run in the second inning. Their 1-0 edge remained intact until Jackie Bradley Jr. tied the game with a solo homer of his own in the eighth inning.
A celebration 18 innings in the making. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/6uaOShLx8u
— MLB (@MLB) October 27, 2018
Boston took a lead in the 13th inning behind a leadoff walk and throwing error on an infield single. The Dodgers were three outs away from a daunting 3-0 series deficit, but the Red Sox then endured a disastrous inning of their own.
Yasiel Puig’s infield single tied the game and Muncy nearly hit a walk-off in the 15th by hitting a ball that was home run distance but a few feet foul. Nathan Eovaldi proceeded to end the at-bat with a strikeout.
Three innings later, Muncy got just enough of a fastball to clear the fence in left-center field.
“He had really good stuff all night long and he wasn’t missing a spot,” Muncy said of facing Eovaldi. “Next at-bat he tried to go backdoor cutter again, but he left this one a little over the plate. And thankfully for me he did that, because I was able to get my bat to it.
“It’s been a dream. This whole year has been a surreal experience that it’s hard to put into words,” he said. “But just getting a chance to play in the World Series has kind of capped it off.
“And then getting a chance to hit a walk-off home run, obviously there’s not many words I can use to describe that. The feeling was just pure joy and incredible excitement. That’s about all I can think of because it’s hard to describe how good a feeling it is.”
Dodgers share longest postseason game in MLB history
The Dodgers and Red Sox are in a four-way tie for the longest postseason game in MLB history, though they are the only teams to have played 18 innings in the World Series.
The Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners (Game 3 of 2022 American League Division Series), San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals (Game 2 of 2014 National League Division Series), and Atlanta Braves and Astros (Game 4 of 2005 NLDS) also went 18 innings.
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