There isn’t exactly a formula for a really good baseball game. That said, there is one thing a lot of all-time classic ballgames have in common, and that’s a really good ending.
Walk-offs get much of the glory in this department. A walk-off home run is, after all, baseball’s mic drop. But epic endings can come in any form, so long as the sequence of events leaves us reeling.
We will say this for the 2025 MLB season; it never failed to shock us. Of all of this past season’s unlikely, chaotic and occasionally bizarre game endings, here’s a look at MLB Network’s Top 20.
20. July 2: Blue Jays over Yankees, 11-9 (Watch)
The Blue Jays, up 7-0 through the first inning, eventually found themselves facing a 9-9 tie as they came to bat in the bottom of the eighth. Cue chaos; via a wild pitch and an RBI single from Addison Barger, the Blue Jays pulled into a tie atop the AL East, having closed an eight-game gap in a 32-game span.
19. Aug. 1: Rockies over Pirates, 17-16 (Watch)
You could probably run thousands of simulations for this game — played by the two lowest-scoring teams in baseball this year — and never get a result like this. And yet, here in reality, two teams that averaged well under four runs a game did combine for 33 in one evening, and the Rockies, who lost 119 games, managed the largest comeback win of 2025 after giving up nine runs in the top of the first. It only took a five-run ninth inning, capped off by Brenton Doyle’s walk-off home run.
18. Sept. 5: Mets over Reds, 5-4 (Watch)
The final NL Wild Card berth was ultimately claimed by the Reds, but they did so via tiebreaker, and this was Game 1 of an early-September series that would settle their head-to-head record with the Mets. In this game, though, New York survived. Edwin Díaz loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth, then swapped shoes in front of the mound, and proceeded to pull a rabbit out of his hat for an improbable victory.
17. April 22: Cubs over Dodgers, 11-10 (10) (Watch)
The Cubs gave as good as they got early on in the game but still found themselves facing a 10-7 deficit after the Dodgers’ five-run outburst in the seventh. No problem — a two-run homer from Kyle Tucker in the eighth would bring them within a run, and later, down to their final out, Miguel Amaya would crush a game-tying home run off Tanner Scott. Tied at 10 runs apiece in the bottom of the 10th — what a delight — Ian Happ finally put an end to the battle with a walk-off single.
16. July 8: Giants over Phillies, 4-3 (Watch)
Oracle Park’s right field wall is a confirmed agent of chaos; even so, the odds of a scuffling catcher hitting an inside-the-park home run are astronomical under any circumstances. And yet said catcher, Patrick Bailey, did in fact hit a first-pitch, walk-off inside-the-parker off Jordan Romano in this game. Stranger still, he had two legitimate shots at making this list: He’d later hit a walk-off grand slam on Sept. 12.
15. NLDS Game 4: Dodgers over Phillies, 2-1 (11) (Watch)
Proof that “best” is a relative term, Game 4’s ending was a true gut punch. In a 1-1 game in the 11th, the Phillies needed just one out against the bottom of the Dodgers order to extend their season for one more inning. It was here that Orion Kerkering entered out of the bullpen, and after issuing a walk to load the bases, got Andy Pages to ground a ball back to the mound. Fatefully, Kerkering’s throw home sailed, and the Dodgers advanced to the NLCS.
14. NLCS Game 1: Dodgers over Brewers, 2-1 (Watch)
Although not as high-stakes as a potential elimination game, the way Game 1 of the NLCS ended has to be considered one of the greater “what could have been and almost was” baseball moments in recent memory. Up with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, all Brice Turang had to do to tie the game was reach — any way would do, and as luck would have it, Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen couldn’t find the plate. The fourth pitch of the at-bat strayed well inside, nearly granting Turang a game-tying RBI hit by pitch. But Turang’s instincts had already taken over — he dodged the wayward sweeper, then struck out on Treinen’s next offering.
13. May 13: Tigers over Red Sox, 10-9 (11) (Watch)
Javier Báez had already left a mark on the evening’s back-and-forth, a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth that had, at the time, given the Tigers a 6-4 lead. But the Red Sox had re-tied the game in the eighth to send the game to extras, and by the time Báez came to the plate in the bottom of the 11th, the Tigers were trailing, 9-7. Fortunately, they had, again, put two men on in front of him.
12. Aug. 1: Marlins over Yankees, 13-12 (Watch)
Less a case of the Marlins outlasting the Yankees and more one of the Marlins’ lineup outlasting their pitching, no one managed to hold a lead in this game (literally!) But it was the upstart Marlins who were down 6-0 through the top of the fourth, 9-4 through the top of the seventh, and finally 12-10 when they sent their seven, eight and nine hitters to the plate leading off the bottom of the ninth. Naturally, in this game that featured entirely too much offense, including six home runs, the game-winner was a walk-off fielder’s choice.
11. 2025 All-Star Game: NL wins in first swing-off (Watch)
The mythical All-Star Game swing-off was introduced as part of the 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement, and for three years, it went unused. In 2025, we finally got our first look at the Home Run Derby-esque tiebreaker, and it was, truly, everything we could have hoped, all thanks to Kyle Schwarber, who with his three swings crushed three home runs for the National League.
10. Sept. 26: Red Sox over Tigers, 4-3 (Watch)
Boston snapped a three-year postseason drought in epic fashion. Ceddanne Rafaela’s shot to center field eluded a leaping Parker Meadows at the wall, sending Romy Gonzalez on a mad dash around the bases. Rafaela’s heroics were just the capper in a dramatic game that saw the Red Sox erase an early 3-0 deficit, scoring a run in each of the final three frames. And it’s not the only time that the dynamic Rafaela incited bedlam at Fenway Park, either.
9. July 11: Red Sox over Rays, 5-4 (Watch)
A middling team for the first few months of last season, the Red Sox caught fire shortly before the All-Star break, riding a seven-game winning streak into a Friday night showdown against the Rays. Tampa Bay was on the verge of putting that streak to bed, handing the ball to closer Pete Fairbanks to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning. After Roman Anthony drew a five-pitch walk, the red-hot Rafaela sent a two-strike slider into orbit. Rafaela’s shot soared over the Green Monster, a Statcast-projected 406 feet, to send Boston to an eighth straight win.
8. Aug. 16: Brewers over Reds, 6-5 (11) (Watch)
The 97-win Brewers seemed invincible at multiple points throughout the 2025 season, but no more so than this night in Cincinnati. Milwaukee’s 13-game winning streak was squarely on the line in the ninth inning. But Sal Frelick beat out a potential game-ending double play ball, and when Elly De La Cruz uncorked a wild throw, Brice Turang sprinted home with the tying run. As if that wasn’t Brewers-esque enough, the unlikeliest of heroes came through in the 11th inning. Andruw Monasterio launched a go-ahead three-run home run, propelling Milwaukee to its 14th straight win and setting a new franchise record.
7. Sept. 20: Mariners over Astros, 6-4 (Watch)
In recent history, the American League West has run through Houston. It most certainly hasn’t gone through Seattle, which last won the division title in 2001. But the tides turned in late September, when the Mariners swept a three-game series from the Astros at Daikin Park. Victor Robles did his best Superman impression to end Saturday’s thriller, making a sensational diving catch in right field to rob Carlos Correa of a base hit. Then, Robles doubled up Jake Meyers at second base to slam the door. The double play gave Seattle its 13th win in 14 games and a two-game cushion in the AL West, paving the way for a long-awaited division crown.
6. ALCS Game 7: Blue Jays 4, Mariners 3 (Watch)
The Blue Jays know a thing or two about epic home runs, from Joe Carter touching ’em all to Jose Bautista sending his bat into orbit. That’s the legendary company that George Springer joined with a swing that will be forever etched in franchise lore. Springer’s three-run home run off Eduard Bazardo in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the ALCS flipped the game on its head, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead. The Rogers Centre shook all the way to the final out, as the Jays rode Springer’s blast to their first World Series appearance since 1993.
5. ALDS Game 5: Mariners 3, Tigers 2 (15) (Watch)
In a truly epic winner-take-all game that lasted 298 minutes and saw 15 different pitchers used, Jorge Polanco played hero with a walk-off single. Polanco’s hit was just the 15th walk-off hit in a winner-take-all game in MLB postseason history, the first winner-take-all postseason game to ever go more than 13 innings. This nail-biter saw a bit of everything, from a dominant Tarik Skubal to four pitchers appearing out of the bullpen after starting a game earlier in the series. In the end, the M’s clinched their first trip to the ALCS since 2001 on an unforgettable night at T-Mobile Park.
4. Sept. 6: Orioles over Dodgers, 4-3 (Watch)
The Orioles did something that no team has done in the expansion era (since 1961) when they won a game after breaking up a no-hit bid when down to their final out. Yes, you read that correctly. That’s the sort of wackiness that transpired at Camden Yards, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto — in a fitting prelude for the October dominance to come — held Baltimore hitless for 8 2/3 innings. But Jackson Holliday’s home run broke up the no-hitter and knocked Yamamoto out of the game in one fell swoop. From there, five straight O’s hitters reached against two different Dodgers pitchers, culminating in a game-winning hit from Emmanuel Rivera to end one of the most improbable comebacks you’ll ever see.
3. World Series Game 6: Dodgers over Blue Jays, 3-1 (Watch)
Kiké Hernández has largely crafted the legend of Playoff Kiké with his bat. But on this night, with the Dodgers’ title defense on the line, Hernández salvaged a season with his glove. L.A. clenched a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Jays put two men in scoring position with just one out. Andrés Giménez lofted a shallow popup into left field, where Hernández was positioned perfectly, thanks to a pre-pitch adjustment. He made the catch on the run and fired a one-hop strike to second base, where Miguel Rojas held onto the ball to double up Addison Barger. The epic ending set the stage for the Dodgers’ second straight World Series title, which they would accomplish via an even more epic ending the next night.
2. World Series Game 7: Dodgers over Blue Jays, 5-4 (11) (Watch)
The ultimate ending, if you will. And what an ending it was. Unsurprisingly, the World Series was won on the margins — the Blue Jays had their closer, Jeff Hoffman, on the mound in the top of the ninth with a one-run lead, two outs away, when Miguel Rojas (and his career .362 SLG) hit his game-tying home run. Another solo home run from Will Smith was what ultimately sealed their fate, but it nearly wasn’t enough to put the Dodgers ahead for good — Toronto put men on first and third before hitting into a season-ending, series-clinching double play.
1. World Series Game 3: Dodgers over Blue Jays, 6-5 (18) (Watch)
On a list of the best endings of the season, how could an 11-inning Game 7 situation come second to any game? We would have asked the same question before we experienced the honest-to-goodness war of attrition that was Game 3 of the same series. With the scoring frozen from the eighth inning on, legends were born, unlikely heroes were made and viewers the world over slowly forgot that there was ever a time before Blue Jays-Dodgers. Six hours and 39 minutes of nail-biting later (our cuticles will never be the same), Freddie Freeman finally did what he had one year and two days earlier, in the same ballpark, against a different AL East team — coming through with a genuinely merciful walk-off home run in the bottom of the 18th.
