It was a World Series game for the ages. And one of its most prominent features was the outstanding defense that resulted in six — count ’em, SIX — outs on the base paths in a taut 18-inning thriller that ended in a 6-5 Game 3 victory for the Dodgers, who took a 2-1 Series lead.
Here’s a ranking of each incredible play and how it impacted one of the great World Series contests in recent memory:
1. Edman makes a tremendous heads-up play to throw out Kiner-Falefa (ninth inning)
Every pitch of every game carries the possibility that you’ll witness something incredible — and potentially something incredibly wild. That’s what happened with the game tied, 5-5, in the top of the ninth inning. With Isiah Kiner-Falefa on first and one out, Daulton Varsho smashed a liner off the glove of a leaping Freddie Freeman at first base and into shallow right field.
Kiner-Falefa sprinted around second and headed for third, but out of nowhere, second baseman Tommy Edman rushed over, slid to scoop up the ball as it trickled into the outfield and fired a one-hopper to third base to throw out Kiner-Falefa and end Toronto’s threat.
2. Barger throws out Freeman at the plate (third inning)
Addison Barger has made a name for himself this postseason with the bat — he entered World Series Game 3 with a .953 OPS and three home runs in these playoffs, including a pinch-hit grand slam in Game 1 at Rogers Centre.
But don’t sleep on Barger’s arm in right field.
He uncorked a 98.5 mph missile to the plate on a third-inning single by Will Smith and caught Freeman trying to score from second. Barger’s throw was the third-fastest from the outfield recorded in the postseason since Statcast began tracking in 2015 — behind only Jackie Bradley Jr.’s 105.1 mph throw in 2016 ALDS Game 1, and Matt Wallner’s 99.2 mph throw in 2023 ALDS Game 1.
3. Teo returns the favor, starts perfect relay to nail Schneider at the plate (10th inning)
Teoscar Hernández was thrown out trying to get to third base in the sixth inning, but this time he was the one doing the throwing. With two outs and Davis Schneider at first base in the top of the 10th, Nathan Lukes lined a ball down the right field line. Hernández played the carom off the wall and began a perfect relay with a strike to the cutoff man, Edman.
Edman then threw to the plate where Smith received it and was waiting for Schneider, tagging him out and ending the frame.
4. Vladdy fires across the diamond to get Teo at third (sixth inning)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been the heartbeat of the Blue Jays during their run to within three victories of a World Series championship. His bat has been phenomenal, to be sure. But so has his defense, and he flashed it again in Game 3.
With two outs and a runner at first in the bottom of the sixth, Kiké Hernández hit a sharp ground ball into the hole between shortstop and third base. Shortstop Andrés Giménez gloved it on the backhand and made a jump-throw to first.
Guerrero, sensing it would be short and not in time, came off the bag at first base, picked the throw and fired an 87.6 mph throw of his own across the diamond to Ernie Clement at third to get Teoscar Hernández trying to take the extra base.
5. Ohtani on base nine times, but off base this time (ninth inning)
All Shohei Ohtani produced for an encore to his previous game at Dodger Stadium — possibly the greatest individual performance in a single game in MLB history — was a 4-for-4 performance with two homers, two doubles and five walks (four intentional). He became the first player in postseason history to reach base more than six times in a game, and the first player in MLB history with four or more hits and five or more walks in the same game — regular or postseason.
But after he was intentionally walked for the first time in the bottom of the ninth inning, Ohtani — who stole 59 bases in 2024 — took off for second, representing the winning run. But Blue Jays backstop Alejandro Kirk, who earlier in the contest launched a three-run homer, threw a strike to second base to get the reigning NL MVP, whose foot came off the bag while Kiner-Falefa held the tag.
Ohtani was called out, and the call was confirmed upon a replay challenge by the Dodgers.
6. Bo didn’t know: Bichette picked off first base on bizarre play (second inning)
Following a single to center field to lead off the second, Bo Bichette was at first base as Varsho came to the plate. Varsho worked the count to 3-1, and the next pitch was thought by Varsho — and Bichette — to be ball four after home plate umpire Mark Wegner didn’t immediately signal that it was a strike.
As Varsho started toward first, Wegner signaled strike, but by this point, Bichette was on his way to second. After the ball came back to Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow, Glasnow turned and threw to first baseman Freddie Freeman, who went over and tagged Bichette out.
