Max Muncy's 18th-Inning Homer Lifts Dodgers Over Boston; Red Sox Lead Series, 2-1

Players of the Day for Friday, October 26, 2018

World Series Game Three: LA Dodgers 3 Boston Red Sox 2 (18 innings)

Muncy: Game-winning HR in 18th

The longest game in World Series history came down to one pitch, a 3-2 offering from Nathan Eovaldi to Max Muncy, a two-seam fast ball that Muncy deposited in the left field stands at Dodger Stadium.

It was well after midnight in Los Angeles (after 3:00 am ET) when Muncy finalized the 18-inning marathon, giving the Dodgers new life with a 3-2 win and the Red Sox up two games to one. Muncy, who scored a tying run in the 13th after Boston had taken a 2-1 lead in the top of the inning, socked his third post-season home run with no outs and the bases empty.

Eovaldi was starting his seventh inning of relief work after being called out of the bullpen by manager Alex Cora to start the 12th inning. He was the ninth Boston pitcher to go to the mound. The Dodgers also employed nine hurlers. Alex Wood worked a hitless top of the 18th for Los Angeles to receive the win.

Muncy finished the game 2-for-6 with two runs and the lone RBI from his walk-off homer. His other hit was a two-out, ground rule double in the 10th inning, but he was left stranded when Manny Machado popped out to short. Muncy had come close to ending the game in the bottom of the 15th when he lofted a fly ball down the right field line that hooked just short of the foul pole and into the stands.

The game lasted seven hours and 20 minutes, and was four innings longer than the previous record of 14, which had been done three times, according to USA Today. In 1916, Game 2, the Brooklyn Robins beat the Red Sox, 2-1. In 2005, Game 3, the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros, 7-5, and in 2015, Game 1, the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets, 5-4.

Noteworthy numbers:

• Red Sox hitters went 7-for-57; LA batters were 11-for-61.
• There were three home runs, all solo shots: one by Boston's Jackie Bradley Jr. which tied the game in the eighth inning at 1-1, and two by the Dodgers: Joc Pederson's third inning blast, and Muncy's game-winner.
• 18 pitchers were used, nine by each side
• Red Sox hurlers threw 283 pitches, 186 for strikes, struck out 15 and issued five walks.
• Dodger pitchers threw 278 pitches, with 173 strikes. They fanned 19 and walked seven.

Game four is scheduled for 8:09 pm ET Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Eovaldi had been scheduled to start for the Red Sox, but he threw 97 pitches in relief. Left-hander Rich Hill starts for the Dodgers. The Red Sox will likely start Drew Pomeranz, who was 2-6 during the regular season.