No, I’m not referring to BOGO’s at Publix or happy hour deals at your favorite watering hole, I’m referring to Game 3 of the World Series last night (and early this morning) where literally “two games” were played in one. As in the 18-inning epic that finally ended around 3am our time with the Dodgers prevailing 6-5 on a Freddie Freeman walk-off home run that had just enough juice on it to clear the centerfield wall. In the process the Dodgers took a 2-1 series lead and Freeman became the first player in MLB history to hit two walk-off home runs in World Series play (doing so last year, also, in even more epic fashion).

So much to process from that game, and so little sleep, so here goes just a rapid fire of observations:

First, that Dodgers lineup is just loaded. I realize that’s a Captain Obvious remark but as the Series progresses it just stands out more and more. For the entire duration of extra innings it felt like every guy at the plate or on deck for the Dodgers could end it with one swing, whereas when they showed the “Due Up Next” graphic for the Jays in between innings I kept wondering where the hitters were. It’s just crazy. 

Second, what more can be said about Shohei Ohtani? His greatness at the sport boggles the mind. 4-4 at the plate with two doubles, two home runs, and 5 walks. And slated to pitch tonight’s game where in his last appearance he tossed 6+ dominant innings and struck out 10 (along with 3 home runs). Again, what more can be said?

Third, Freddie Freeman. Class dude. Clutchest of hitters. Still cannot believe the Atlanta Braves and Freeman’s agent botched that deal and that Freeman is repeatedly making history as a Dodger instead. I feel for my friends in the ATL. That dude should have retired and gone to the hall of fame as a Brave. 

Fourth, the unsung heroes of that game are relief pitchers Will Klein (Dodgers) and Eric Lauer (Blue Jays) both of whom threw 4+ innings of relief each in extremely difficult and high pressure situations. Felt like the Blue Jays were living on the edge the whole time with Lauer who relies on more breaking balls and I just kept waiting for one to get hit out but it never happened until Freeman took Brenden Little deep to end it, Little being another guy who relied a lot on non-fastballs, including his sweeper and knuckle curve. Which, in real time, made me realize again why I prize flamethrowers in the back of the bullpen. I know the adage that major league hitters can hit any fastball if they see it enough but at the same time, the bat gets heavier as the game wears on (and it certainly did that last night!) and the situations get tenser and I just like guys who can pound the zone with velocity. When Henriquez came in for the Dodgers somewhere around the 13th or 14th inning and was throwing 102 you could tell it looked like 200 to the hitters. It just felt like it was a matter of time until the Dodgers got to the Jays relievers who nibbled at the edges of the plate more, relied on soft contact and had the ball in play a lot more.

Fifth, it’s cliche but Game 3 was definitely one of those games you hate to see either team lose because it was such an evenly matched, epic, war. At the same time, due to its epic circumstances it felt like a game that the losing team might not be able to recover from. The sheer fact that the Blue Jays must now pivot and immediately regroup to face Ohtani on the mound tonight (see point one above about the Dodgers being LOADED) just seems like a monumental hurdle.

Sixth, how about Yoshinobu Yamamoto being willing and available and seen warming up in the pen during the 17th inning after just throwing his second consecutive complete game on Saturday! Gotta love the Japanese grit that characterizes their game and players. That dude is awesome.

Seventh, I loved last night (early this morning) and the epic 18-inning battle Game 3 was, but I did begin to wonder if it’s good for baseball. “Good” in an evangelistic, fold newcomers in way. This is the age of short attention spans. Not a single run was scored for ten innings. The game featured 19 pitchers and lasted nearly 7 hours. Again, I loved it but I’m a die-hard. For the casual, some of those dynamics are what keep people from embracing soccer or cricket or other sports struggling for market share in America. I suppose the rebuttal is the changes made to regular season contests which include the extra inning rules of starting the 10th with a runner in scoring position, a rule which they do not use in the playoffs to preserve tradition and historical precedence, but again, it just made me wonder. Is this fun? Is this good for the game? I think so, but again am a die-hard and I was also pondering this around 3am when decision making isn’t always at its best.

Eighth – despite my playful criticism of Dave Roberts in an earlier post, I really feel like both managers (Schneider for the Jays) have had pretty strong showings so far in the Series. I know Dodgers fans got very nervous when Robert’s went to Treinen in relief for a brief stint as Roberts seems too apt to do for most fan’s likings, and I still feel like Schneider pulled Scherzer a smidge too early but I’m nit picking. The series is a true battle on every front, including strategy by our dugout generals.

Ninth – ideally this would be the number of innings that end most games in the series just so we can all get to bed on time and focus on other things, you know, like family and jobs, but 9×2 equalling 18 for a game was fun in moderation. And we get to do it all over again tonight!