Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers still deadlocked in second-longest World Series game ever

Toronto blueness Jays human face the Dodgers in L.A. This evening for biz 3, series is tied 1-1

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It’s wild even typing that. Here’s hoping everyone is hanging in there.

This is stressful, but it’s fun, and it’s why we watch baseball.

Heineman came to bat with two Blue Jays on base, and two out, in the top of the 18th inning.

During Heineman’s at bat, Klein threw a wild pitch, a mistake that allowed the runners to advance to second and third.

That meant that the potential winning run for the Jays was a mere 90 feet from home plate.

But Heineman struck out on the sixth pitch of the at-bat.

Klein was back at it for the Dodgers as the 18th inning started.

Lukes hit a liner to Freeman, continuing the Blue Jays' struggles to get runners aboard in the late stages of this marathon Game 3.

Guerrero drew a walk from Klein with one out.

Kiner-Falefa hit into what looked like a near-double play, but he was called safe at first. Guerrero was out on the same play.

Varsho was up next. He worked a long at-bat, drawing a walk on the 10th pitch from Klein.

Just two days after tossing 105 pitches in a complete game win, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is warming up for Los Angeles — presumably to enter if this game goes to a 19th inning.

Yamamoto dominated Jays hitters just two days ago in Toronto in what was ironically the shortest World Series game since 2017 at two hours 36 minutes.

We’re well over the six-hour mark tonight.

Only one other World Series game has gone 18 innings — when the Dodgers beat the Red Sox in Game 3 of the 2018 Fall Classic.

By time, that one, at seven hours 20 minutes, remains longer than tonight’s marathon.

After Ohtani was walked, Betts came to bat, with a chance to end the ballgame that began more than six hours earlier.

The two battled, with Betts fouling off multiple pitches before Little coaxed a pop up from Betts on the eighth pitch.

Brendon Little got the calls for the Jays in the bottom of the 17th inning, in the already remarkably long Game 3.

Little went up against Edman, and claimed a strikeout, for his first out.

Then he got Rojas to ground out to shortstop for the second.

Call had a long hit to the outfield, but couldn't turn it into more than a single.

Ohtani was up again and this time, Toronto didn’t intentionally walk him. Little was allowed to face him, and put him on base with a walk after four balls.

Normally, that’s saved for blowout games when managers don’t want to tire their relievers.

But with the Dodgers out of bullpen arms, manager Dave Roberts told a Fox reporter that he would use a position player on the mound if the game reaches the 18th inning.

That’s three outs from becoming reality.

In the other bullpen, Toronto has Game 4 starter Shane Bieber loosening up with their final reliever in Brendon Little on the mound.

Klein was back on the mound for Los Angeles as the top of the 17th began.

He got a quick fly out from Clement, before striking out the next batter, Giménez.

Davis Schneider then hit a liner directly to Klein on the second pitch he saw for the the third out of the inning.

I used that same headline waaaaaay back in the fifth inning, naively stating that each side’s relievers would have to navigate four innings.

Well, here we are 12 innings later. Neither team has scored since the seventh, which was also the last time the Blue Jays let Ohtani swing a bat.

The bullpens are certainly doing their part.

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