LOS ANGELES -- Freddie Freeman homered leading off the bottom of the 18th inning, Shohei Ohtani went deep twice in another record-setting performance and the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 in Game 3 on Monday night to win a World Series classic.
The defending champion Dodgers took a 2-1 series lead, and they still have a chance to win the title at home -- something they haven't done since 1963.
Freeman connected off left-hander Brendon Little, sending a 406-foot drive to straightaway center field to finally end a game that lasted 6 hours, 39 minutes, and matched the longest by innings in postseason history.
The only other Series contest to go 18 innings was Game 3 at Dodger Stadium seven years ago. Freeman's current teammate, Max Muncy, won that one with an 18th-inning homer against the Boston Red Sox.
It was Freeman's second World Series walk-off homer in two years. The star first baseman hit the first game-ending grand slam in Series history to win Game 1 last season against the New York Yankees.
Will Klein, the last reliever left in the Dodgers' bullpen, got the biggest win of his career. He allowed one hit over four shutout innings and threw 72 pitches -- twice as many as his previous high in the majors.
Ohtani, meanwhile, tied a 119-year-old major league record with four extra-base hits, putting on yet another historic postseason show at Dodger Stadium.
After his four-hit barrage in the first seven innings, Ohtani drew five consecutive walks, making him the first major leaguer in 83 years to reach base nine times in any game, let alone the postseason.
"What matters the most is we won," Ohtani said through his interpreter. "And what I accomplished today is in the context of this game, and what matters the most is we flip the page and play the next game."
Freeman's latest clutch homer cleared the fence just over 17 hours before Ohtani will make his first World Series start on the mound when he pitches for the Dodgers in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
"I want to go to sleep as soon as possible so I can get ready," a smiling Ohtani said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
