MLB World Series: WBSC Premier12 superstar Shohei Ohtani rewrites Baseball History Books in 18-inning drama

Shohei Ohtani keeps setting milestones. In Game Three of the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, the two-way phenom and WBSC Premier12 superstar hit four extra bases in his first four at-bats, becoming the first player with four extra-base hits in a World Series game.

Ohtani led off the bottom of the first with a double against Max Scherzer, he got to Scherzer in the third with a one-out solo home run. Ohtani then welcomed reliever Mason Fluharty with an RBI-double in the bottom of the fifth and homered against Seranthony Dominguez, tying the game at five in the bottom of the seventh.

The Blue Jays decided to keep Ohtani out of the game after that. They walked him five times, four intentionally.

The five walks gave Ohtani the chance to set another postseason milestone, reaching base an unprecedented nine times. The last hitter to reach base nine times in a game was Stan Hack (1909-1979), a gold-glove third baseman and leadoff hitter for the Chicago Cubs, in the 1942 regular season.

"What matters the most is that we won," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton postgame in a Fox Sports interview that the over 52,000 fans at Dodger Stadium could view on the venue's giant screen. "What I accomplished tonight remains in the context of this game. We will flip the page and think about the next game."

The tie held through 17 innings. In the bottom of the 18th inning, leadoff hitter Freeman worked the count full on left-hander Brendon Little, then homered on a 92.4-mile-per-hour sinker, ending the game after 6 hours and 39 minutes.

Freeman made Dodgers' history when he ended game one of the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees with a tenth-inning walk-off home run.

"I don't think you ever come up with a scenario twice. You just kept getting the opportunities over and over again," commented Freeman after the game.

The two teams combined 19 pitchers, the most in a game in postseason history.

The Los Angeles Dodgers now lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1. Shohei Ohtani will take the mound as Los Angeles' Game Four starting pitcher at 8 pm (US Eastern Time) on Tuesday, October 28, less than 17 hours after the end of Game Three.

"I want to go to sleep as soon as possible so I can get ready," commented Ohtani with a smile.

Shane Bieber will take the mound for the Blue Jays.