For the Toronto Blue Jays, their 18th-inning loss to the LA Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series will linger. That is, unless they bounce back and win the series, then all will be forgotten.
Meanwhile, the walk-off home run by Freddie Freeman will live on in the annals of history, but only if the Dodgers win.
As a result, Blue Jays' reliever Brendon Little is quick to process throwing the sinker pitch that gave up the home run, per Jesse Rogers in ESPN.
“Going back out, the sinker seemed a little bit flatter,” Little said. “I didn't want to walk anyone. I tried to fill up the zone there on the full count … He did a good job laying off two cutters away. I had to go back at him with the sinker, and he put a great swing on it.”
In the 18th inning, Little came in to provide relief after Eric Lauer threw 4.2 innings and gave up four walks, two hits, and had two strikeouts. Altogether, Little gave up two hits, one earned run, a walk, and had a strikeout.
In all, the marathon 18-inning game became a seminal moment in recent baseball history. The Dodgers are vying to win their second consecutive World Series title, and the Blue Jays are trying to reach the top of the mountain for the first time since 1993.
Other moments where one pitch defined a World Series
Throughout the history of the World Series, one pitch decided the outcome. Granted, this series is far from over, but just for fun, here are some of those previous moments.
In 1932, Babe Ruth's hotly debated “called shot” home run came in Game 3 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field off Charlie Root. Twenty-eight years later, Yankees' pitcher Ralph Terry faced Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.
Mazeroski hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th. In 1988, Kirk Gibson hit his walk-off homer while hobbled against Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 between the Dodgers and the Oakland A's.
Obviously, for Toronto, it was Joe Carter's walk-off homer of Mitch Williams in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series that lifted the Blue Jays over the Philadelphia Phillies.
