Dodgers World Series Mini-Movie

Thanks to Houston Mitchell of the Dodgers Dugout (LA Times newsletter) for this find.

I haven't watched the whole thing yet, but I like the blue shaded coloring in the opening minutes of the movie!

Dodgers Mentioned As Potential Tarik Skubal Destination

Skubal: Do?

It's obviously just speculation, but here's here's The Athletic's Jim Bowden's argument for why the Dodgers might be in the running for the two-time Cy Young Award winner:

Potential trade return: RHP Emmet Sheehan, LHP Justin Wrobleski, LHP Jackson Ferris and OF Zyhir Hope

The Dodgers already have four aces in their rotation and an exciting development project in Roki Sasaki. However, teams can never have enough starting pitching, so the Dodgers have no reason not to add another ace to the top of the rotation, especially when they can offer a competitive package and have the resources to keep him long-term, as well.

Los Angeles could offer two major-league ready starting pitchers in Sheehan and Wrobleski, and a third pitcher in Ferris who’s getting closer to being major-league ready. Sheehan and Wrobleski have already cut their teeth at the major-league level, even getting important innings during the postseason. Sheehan was especially impressive with the Dodgers this year, putting up a 2.82 ERA in 73 1/3 innings during the regular season.

Ferris should start next season in Triple A after posting a 3.62 ERA in 154 1/3 Double A innings the last two seasons. He and Hope were the return the Dodgers got from the Cubs in the deal that sent Michael Busch to Chicago. Ferris won’t turn 22 until January and has plus stuff but needs to work on his command.

Hope has the highest ceiling among this group. He’s at least two years away from the major leagues, but he reached Double A at the end of the season and has above-average on-base skills to go along with a power-and-speed combination at the plate and a strong glove in center field.

Another idea would be to substitute Tyler Glasnow for Sheehan in the deal. This would give the Tigers a top-of-the-rotation starter to replace Skubal and they would control Glasnow for three more years. Glasnow does not have a no-trade clause with the Dodgers and has $94 million remaining on his contract if the team-half of the 2028 mutual option is exercised.

I didn't realize Glasnow doesn't have a no-trade clause.

2025 World Series Games 6 and 7, From A Blue Jays Fan

We've been passing this youtube thread around some of the Sons in the last week. It's an excellent recap of Games 6 and 7 from the perspective of a Blue Jays fan.

I have to admit, watching these highlights now, even knowing the outcome--it is still so stressful to watch. And that's as a Dodgers fan! But it's worth the 22 minutes; Ross Rheaume did a great job compiling this piece.

Enjoy!

Miguel Rojas' Game 7 Heroics, Revisited (Part 1)

Two weeks later, and I'm still watchiing highlights. But I just wanted to post this one by Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday, when Miguel Rojas hit his game-tying, ninth-inning home run in World Series Game 7. This was such a shock home run, I still get chills!

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Shohei Ohtani Wins Fourth MVP Award; 4x Unanimous Vote Winner

As amazing as Shohei Ohtani has been with the Dodgers in his first two seasons, it begs the question why he didn't reach these heights with the Angels' organization. I still can't figure that one out.

But let's not lose the opportunity to celebrate Ohtani's fourth career MVP award:

Ohtani has won four MVPs over the past five years, all of them in unanimous fashion. Only Barry Bonds has more with seven.

"It's definitely special," Ohtani, speaking through an interpreter, said on a conference call. "It makes it special because it was unanimous, and I would like to thank all the writers for voting for me."

Ohtani, 31, had already joined Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players to win MVP in both leagues and the only player among the four major American professional sports with more than one unanimous MVP. Now he is the first player in MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL history to win both an MVP and a championship in each of his first two seasons with a team, according to ESPN Research.

In true Ohtani fashion, he prioritized this year's World Series team victory over his own individual accomplishment:

“The biggest thing,” Ohtani said through an interpreter of this 2025 win, “is obviously being able to win the World Series. That's first and foremost. You know, it's icing on the cake to be able to get an individual award, being crowned MVP, but I just really appreciate the support from all my teammates, everybody around me, my supporting staff.”

The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya also has a nice piece, which ends with this:

In Game 3 of the World Series against the Blue Jays, Ohtani showed the world something else they’d never seen. He’d pounded Toronto through his first four at-bats, slugging a pair of doubles and two home runs to will the Dodgers to a 5-5 tie. Toronto manager John Schneider saw enough and put him on with intentional walks each of the next four times he went to the plate in an eventual 18-inning marathon. When Ohtani came up a ninth time on the night, he was walked on four pitches. It marked the first time in any game since 1942 that a batter had reached safely nine times, and no one had ever reached more than six times in a World Series game.

“We’re still running out of words to describe a once-in-a-ten-generational player,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said.

Now, Ohtani has even more hardware.

Congratulations, Shohei Ohtani!

Dodgers Considering Signing More Guys Following Bad Years

Michael Conforto, walking back to the dugout after one of his 121 Ks in 2025.

I know the Dodgers need to fill some gaps, but I'm pretty concerned about the rumors that we're chasing injury-prone Kyle Tucker and largely-ineffective reliever Devin Williams.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic had the news on Williams:

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes affirmed Tuesday that the Dodgers could sign a reliever as they ramp up for a potential three-peat. Candidates include at least one familiar target already clear at this week’s annual general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas, sources said: two-time All-Star reliever Devin Williams.

The Dodgers had been in the mix to trade for Williams last winter before the Milwaukee Brewers shipped him to the New York Yankees. Williams even said in his introductory news conference with New York, “I kind of thought I’d be going to L.A.”

His Yankees campaign fell off the rails as Williams posted a 4.79 ERA and lost his closer role by the end of the season (though his 2.68 FIP and 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings suggest he was still productive).

Now, there appears to be mutual interest between the two sides early in Williams’ first foray into free agency.

Williams was simply not good for the Yankees, who tried in vain to get him back to form using multiple unsuccessful approaches. And then, there's Tucker, whom ESPN's Jeff Passan says is interesting albeit not 10-years interesting (whew!). At least MLB Trade Rumors' Anthony Franco wisely reminds us there are other options:

The balance could be to turn to the trade market. Steven Kwan, Lars Nootbaar (recovering from heel surgeries), Brendan Donovan and Wilyer Abreu are among the outfield-capable players who might be available. The Dodgers were tied to Kwan and Donovan at last summer’s deadline. They certainly have the farm system to make a strong offer for a controllable outfielder. Rushing could be a trade chip if the Dodgers don’t feel he’d be an above-average regular in left field, for instance.

The Dodgers obviously have the spending capacity to make a run at any free agent as well. They’ve generally preferred making shorter-term commitments at huge annual rates to offering decade-long deals, though. They’ve broken that precedent for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but both were special cases. Ohtani is the best player in the world and Yamamoto was a 25-year-old ace. Tucker is an excellent player but not that kind of unique free agent. The Dodgers would probably be more amenable to a five- or six-year deal at a premium AAV if Tucker winds up going that route, but it stands to reason his camp will try to pull a ten-plus year commitment in the early part of the offseason.

Look, we saw the disaster that was The Michael Conforto Reclamation Project in 2025 (thankfully, not in the regular season). -0.7 WAR, 418 AB, .199 BA, OPS+ of 79. And then, after trotting his sorry ass out to left field all year long, we didn't even consider him in the postseason.

We can't do this again.

(photo by Getty Images, unfortunately I can't credit the specific photographer because the OC Register's stupid paywall blocks the text)

Clayton Kershaw Had Shohei Ohtani's Number

Saw this clip from the Dan Patrick show:

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Kiké Hernandez, On Brand At The Dodgers 2025 World Championship Ceremony

Leave it to Kike on Monday, to show up to the Dodgers' 2025 World Championship Ceremony like the drunken uncle who decides he wants to give an off-the-cuff speech at a wedding:

I've found this video of the uncensored version, but I am not going to spend too much time looking for any other clips. Let's keep this family friendly (at least, for a while)!

The Silence In Rogers Centre

For the last 48 hours, all I have been doing is watching highlights. I think I've got enough content to post daily for a lot of this off-season. I'm going to give it a shot.

Let's start with this one, an amazing view of Game 7's improbable ending. I can't believe that there isn't even one Dodgers fan in the crowd, but I haven't found him or her yet!

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I guess there's some Dodgers fans visible in this shot:

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2025 World Series Game 7 Post-Game Thread: BACK TO BACK WORLD CHAMPIONS!

DODGERS 5, BLUE JAYS 4 (11)
DODGERS WIN WORLD SERIES, 4-3

In the end, it wasn't about ruining baseball. It was about grit.

And the Dodgers had it--arguably, even more than the Toronto Blue Jays.

For the Dodgers to go into Rogers Centre needing to win both games, and then winning Game 7 in an extra-inning classic--amazing. This one will be remembered for all time. And what a gutty win after getting kicked in the nuts early, with Shohei Ohtani giving up a three-run HR to Bo Bichette in an extremely abbreivated start.

Ohtani didn't have it on the mound this night, but the truth is, this Dodger team is much more than even its brightest star. The 2025 Dodgers showcase a roster full of future Hall of Famers, but also honors a panoply of unsung and unlikely heroes:

Max Muncy, whose eighth-inning home run brought us within one run of a comeback.

Miguel Rojas, an unlikely savior with his game-tying home run in the ninth inning.

Andy Pages, who ran over Kiké Hernandez in the ninth inning on a deep gapper fly ball, to preserve the tie game.

Will Smith, overshadowed superstar workhorse catcher, with the game-winning solo home run in the 11th.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, winner of World Series Game 6 and 7, the latter on zero days rest.

Mookie Betts, whose clutch double play to end the 2025 World Series showed off his fully-honed defensive skills at a brand new position.

And let's not forget some of the little guys who got us here:

Justin Dean, whose headsup play to call for the deadball in Game 6 saved us the game.

Will Klein, whose Game 3 heroics earned us a victory in the 18-inning marathon.

Justin Wrobleski, whose fourth-inning inside pitches in Game 7 fired the Dodgers back up.

And of course, Dave Roberts, who made incredible decisions all series long, a grandmaster of chess moves in this World Series.

I'm still processing this one (and, hung over), but I wanted to get something posted.

Congratulations to the 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers. What an incredible ride.

2025 World Series Game 7 Thread: Nov 1 @ Blue Jays, 5p

Shohei Ohtani vs. Max Scherzer.

Here we are, at the final game of the 2025 MLB season, on the first day of November.

Part of my process is to try and look at each game objectively beforehand. And when I look at this one, it doesn't seem like we've got much of a shot (despite fangraphs giving us a slight edge, 57.1%). Here's how I'm seeing it, in the hours before this game:

• Max Scherzer is going to be fired up. Not only does Scherzer have experience starting a World Series Game 7 (Nationals vs. Houston, 2019, in which he went five innings of seven-hit, 2 ER ball in a game the Nationals eventually won), but he also was pretty effective against the Dodgers in 2025 WS Game 3, going 4.1 IP and giving up 3 ER and getting 3 Ks in a game that was decided well after his contributions. In WS Game 3, Will Smith struck out to strand Ohtani in the first; Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernandez struck out after Teoscar Hernandez' solo shot in the second; and the third ER came when Ohtani hit a RBI double off of Mason Fluharty (who relieved Scherzer). Scherzer won't exit this game early. And I'm sure he will be on.
• We still aren't batting very well. Don't let yesterday's win fool you. We finally strung some hits together in the third inning of Game 6, but that was it for us that game; 2-for-6 with RISP, and only four hits with 12 Ks. The 12 Ks in yesterday's Game 6 continues a pretty concerning trend: 15 Ks in Game 5; 13 Ks in the marathon Game 3; 13 Ks in Game 1. So in four of the six World Series games, we are up there flailing, evidenced most clearly by albatrosses Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy (10 Ks each this World Series).
• Our defense has been atrocious. Teoscar Hernandez has already cost us runs on the basepaths this postseason as well as runs in the outfield off of horrible routes and stupid dives. Max Muncy had a misplay early in Game 6 around which Yoshinobu Yamamoto was able to work, but how can we count on those strokes of luck? And in Game 5, the missed double play opportunities rattled Blake Snell and curtailed his outing.
• We have no choices in the bullpen. I get it, all hands on deck and everything, and we'll probably see Tyler Glasnow tonight (after hurling only three pitches yesterday), not to mention possibly Blake Snell. But who else are we going to use in this pen? Roki Sasaki was shaky last night. Wrobleski is a tightrope. And if Blake Treinen enters the game, it's an automatic loss. Dave Roberts has made some deft bullpen choices this entire postseason, but I think he's out of options at this stage.
• Not to mention, we haven't gotten to the Toronto bullpen, which was supposed to be a weakness. After getting Kevin Gausman out yesterday, I thought we might tack on some insurance runs, especially against relievers we've seen before. But Mason Fluharty, Louis Varland, Seranthony Dominguez, and Chris Bassitt all shut us down.
• Rogers Centre is going to rock. The Toronto crowd has brought it all series--abating only in the split second that allowed Kiké Hernandez to hear Andres Gimenez' broken bat and realize he had the chance for a game-ending double play last night!--and it will be the most hostile (albeit polite) crowd the Dodgers have faced all year.

On the other hand...

What if Mookie's breakout yesterday works not just for him, but for the rest of this morobund lineup?

What if we get some heroic relief performances like we saw from Justin Wrobleski yesterday?

What if steady veterans like Miguel Rojas get into the starting lineup for the first time, and continue to play spectacular defense thet solidifies the infield?

What if unsung, late-season additions like Will Klein and Justin Dean suddenly hit the big stage...and totally impress with their brains and talent?

It's baseball. Strange things happen. Like this:

Or this:

Or even, this:

Crazy things happen in baseball, which is why even the best teams only win 60% of the time.

And maybe there is something to Mookie Betts' post-game prediction that Shohei Ohtani's story arc seems to have a flair for the dramatic, where he rises to the occasion.

I don't think Ohtani can do it alone, though. And Yamamoto can't save the team this time, so it is going to depend upon someone else.

The Dodgers have had a lot of lucky bounces and breaks this World Series. Let's see if we have one more in us.

2025 World Series Game 6 Post-Game Thread: Tyler Glasnow, Escape Artist Extraordinaire

DODGERS 3, BLUE JAYS 1

The Dodgers only had four hits all game (to the Blue Jays' eight hits), and even made the game's only error (a Max Muncy misplay). And yet, the Dodgers prevailed in World Series Game 6, 3-1, capping another largely-medicore game at the plate (12 Ks, with three of those coming from Teoscar Hernandez' continual whiffs in his 0-for-4 night) with a very surprising road victory.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto had another great postseason start, though his line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 6 Ks, didn't match up to the amazing standards of a couple of his other complete game postseason starts. Which left the fate of this game to the bullpen, with the Dodgers nursing a two-run lead that came after three runs in the third inning (one-out double from Tommy Edman to get things going; RBI double from Will Smith; and then a clutch two-run single by Mookie Betts):

The Betts single silenced the Rogers Centre crowd a bit, even though the Blue Jays got one back in the bottom of the third to make it 3-1. But the crowd got louder as the Dodgers bullpen buckled, but did not break. Justin Wrobleski yielded a two-out double to Ernie Clement, but then got Andres Gimenez to strike out and end the seventh inning. Roki Sasaki had two on in the eighth with one out, but got Bo Bichette to foul out and then Miguel Rojas fielded a Daulton Varsho bullet to escape that jam.

Sasaki was not so lucky in the ninth, leaving men on second and third--which was fortunate in itself, thanks to late-replacement Justin Dean having the veteran-like wherewithal to raise his hands when Addison Barger's double became lodged under the outfield padding. This forced the umpires to call a dead ball and stop Myles Straw (pinch running for Alejandro Kirk, who was HBP to start the inning) from scoring the Blue Jays' second run. But Sasaki then was pulled for...potential Game 7 starter Tyler Glasnow.

Selecting Glasnow here was a ballsy move by Dave Roberts (as was getting Sasaki to pitch the eighth inning; Sasaki was clearly not sharp with a 25-pitch eighth and a shaky start to the ninth). But credit Roberts for pulling out all the stops tonight--there is no Game 7 if we don't win Game 6 anyway--and so, Glasnow entered with two RISP and none out.

Three pitches later, it was over. Glasnow had some luck to get Clement to pop out to Freddie Freeman. But then the game ended on a crazy 7-4 double play when Gimenez flied to Kike Hernandez in left, a bloop single wiht a 40% probability of being caught--and Kike Hernandez had the composure to not only catch, but then gun the ball back to the infield, where Miguel Rojas caught Barger sleeping off of second base.

Kiké even said, postgame, that he lost that fly ball in the lights:

(and how sweet is it that Kiké is wearing a rotowear Yamamoto shirt! It's here, by the way--and no, we don't get a commission for this link.)

Watching that ninth inning, all I could hear was the echoes of Joe Carter's 1993 Game 6 walkoff home run. It seemed like Toronto was just about to fulfill its destiny there in Game 6.

Instead, we have a Game 7 tomorrow. I'm still in shock having peeled myself off the floor, after watching this one.

Holy smokes. What an ending.

2025 World Series Game 6 Thread: Oct 31 @ Blue Jays, 5p

Dave Roberts tried to introduce basepaths in Thursday's practice, something the team had not experienced for the last two games.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Kevin Gausman.

The Dodgers' 2025 season is poised to end tonight, and even with Blake Snell's crappy start throwing batting practice at the beginning of Game 5, or Teoscar Hernandez' continual misadventures in right field, or failed double play attempts in the infield, it wasn't those mistakes that ultimately derailed the Dodgers' 2025 World Series bid.

It was the hitting. Or lack thereof.

In a particularly awful time for everyone in the starting lineup to get cold, we've got Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman, Max Muncy, and Andy Pages all flailing at the plate. The Game 5 lineup--which thankfully did not include Pages--amassed 15 strikeouts and too many first-pitch infield flies to give the Blue Jays any pressure.

So the Dodgers all got out to Rogers Centre today and took batting practice--which the LAT reported that Roberts took as an exciting positive (whoop dee frickin' doo!)--rather than moping in their hotel rooms, I imagine.

There will be plenty of time for moping if our offense continues to be lost tonight.

Let's frickin' go, Dodgers! Show us a treat, not a trick.

2025 World Series Game 5 Rally Towel: LET’S DO THIS!!!

If it's not time for Dodger Baseball right now,...

2025 World Series Game 5 Thread: Oct 29 vs. Blue Jays, 5p

Blake Snell vs. Trey Yesavage.

In last night's debacle, the Dodgers looked listless at the plate, possibly exhausted from the 18-inning affair the night before. But it would be too easy to say the Dodgers were just tired, since the Blue Jays also would have been just as tired (save a couple of Blue Jays who were removed for pinch runners early in Game 3).

The fact is, the Blue Jays' lineup--with five players batting .300 or better this postseason--is still coming to hit and get on base. And the Dodgers' lineup has exactly zero players batting .300 or better this postseason.

And that's a problem that one night's lack of sleep can't explain away.

We either get that together tonight, or we are doomed. We've got Blake Snell poised to be outdueled by rookie Trey Yesavage again, just as he was in Game 1.

I'm not feeling it.

LET'S GO, DODGERS!!!

2025 World Series Game 4 Rally Towel: LET’S DO THIS!!!

2025 World Series Game 4 Thread: Oct 28 vs. Blue Jays, 5p

Shohei Ohtani vs. Shane Bieber.

How do you reward a guy who just hit two home runs and four extra base hits, and reached base a record nine times in a marathon World Series Game 3?

Send him to the mound to start the next game 17 hours later, of course!

I don't know how Shohei Ohtani is possibly going to do this, but he's starting Game 4 tonight. I don't know how the bullpen is possibly going to do it, either, after throwing 227 pitches (on top of starter Tyler Glasnow's 85 pitches) to keep the Blue Jays off the board for 13.1 innings yesterday.

All I know is, the Dodgers offense simply has to step up more than what it has to date this World Series. No more stupid infield fly outs, or swinging at the first pitches of an at bat. And remember, a lot of the Blue Jays starters left Game 3 early to go relax and recover, unlike many of our starters.

Game 4 is a must-win if we want to stop this series from returning to Toronto. Let's take care of business, bats!

LET'S GO, DODGERS!

2025 World Series Game 3 Post-Game Thread: They Stop Serving Beers At The Seventh Inning

DODGERS 6, BLUE JAYS 5 (18)

They stop serving beers in the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium, in order to make sure that a stadium surrounded by expansive parking lots filled with a sea of cars won't have a slew of inebriated drivers behind the wheels of their vehicles.

In last night's game, however, Dodger Stadium probably could have kept serving beers for a couple more innings. We didn't go home until after Freddie Freeman won the game in the bottom of the 18th inning, in what is now tied for the longest game in World Series history.

That said, I was at Game 3 last night, and I indulged in a full-throttled, 25-ounce beer following Freddie Freeman's amazing walk-off home run. It was glorious, about as much so as a semi-cold Michelob Ultra beer could be.

And this is its own story.

------

Ms. Sax and I got to the game at 4p, about an hour before first pitch, which was a controversy in itself. I would have gotten there at 2p when the gates opened; however, she thought that was nuts. She was probably right; traffic was bad, but not horrible, getting into the Stadium; and we were comfortably in our seats by 4.20p. And it was worth it to have not aggravated Ms. Sax further on this one; this was her first World Series game, and although I was familiar with the majesty of the first World Series home game pre-game show and wanted to see all of it, I didn't want her to be angry going into this one.

(Little did we know that we would be at the Stadium for eight hours!)

Along the way, we stopped at the Home Plate Bar where we splurged on overpriced cocktails: a spicy habanero mule that came smothered in tajin that got all over the place (what a mess!), as well as a spicy margarita. Both were pretty tasty though a little light on the Svedka Vodka. (We now own these two collectible plastic receptacles that I'm sure will sit unused in the back of our bar for a decade or so.)

Cocktails in hand, the pre-game ceremonies were awesome (as always). The fireworks during the starting lineup introduction. The unveiling of the huge flag on the outfield grass. The perfectly-timed flyover, even with the inclusion of the Canadian National Anthem as part of the pre-game routine.

I was happy. Ms. Sax was happy. Let the games begin.

------

I got my first beer after the second inning, following the Dodgers having taken the one-run lead on Teoscar Hernandez' solo home run. When Shohei Ohtani added his own solo shot in the third, we were rocking, despite Freeman getting thrown out by a mile to end that frame.

There was an idiot in our section wearing a George Springer Toronto Blue Jays jersey, and we were riding him (and his namesake player) all game long. Boos, yells of "cheater!", and consistent mocking probably got to both of the people in the Stadium with this unfortunate sartorial choice--Springer was 0-for-3 with 2 Ks before removing himself from the game, mid-AB, in the seventh inning--but this guy was soaking up the vitriol pretty well. And then, following Alejandro Kirk's home run, the fan turned around to our section and held his finger to his mouth, telling us to be quiet. Andres Gimenez added a fourth run, and the Dodgers were suddenly down 4-2. This started the feeling of tension that would not abate for another five hours or so.

We got two runs back in the fifth inning, off a Shohei Ohtani RBI double and a Freeman RBI single, to tie the game. The Blue Jays took the lead again in the seventh inning on a Bo Bichette single to right that Teoscar Hernandez lollygagged (yet again), allowing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to score all the way from first. Tension, again.

And then Ohtani came back and powered "a center-cut fastball" (as Joe Davis put it), depositing it in the Left Field Pavilion to tie the game at five:

It should be noted that Ms. Sax has not been the biggest fan of Ohtani, mostly because he hasn't done much at the games that we happen to attend together. Tonight flipped that script. That second home run, Ms. Sax lost her mind--I think it was the first pitch of the AB--and Ms. Sax could not believe it. Ohtani reached base nine times last night, with four extra base hits (for only the second time even in a World Series game)? I think she's an Ohtani fan now.

And then, the tension began, for the next 11 innings.

So, about that beer....

------

Like any smart Dodger fan, I went back up to the concourse after the top of the seventh, knowing that they would be cutting off alcohol sales soon. After hitting the restroom (and washing my hands, thank you!), I grabbed my second Michelob Ultra can of the night.

When I got back down to our seats, Ms. Sax did not look happy.

"Did you see my text?"

I gulped. "No."

I looked at my phone. She had asked me if I could please not get another beer--a fair ask given I was driving in what I thought would be the next hour (ha!); she knows I love beer; and yeah, it's probably good overall to be drinking less of this wonderful nectar in general, given the obvious health factors.

However, it was too late. I had the beer in hand. So I said I was sorry, and I put the beer in the cupholder in front of me. And there it sat.

Now, Ms. Sax had quickly forgotten about this beer, thanks to the well-timed Ohtani home run. But she was right there with me with the tension and all the missed opportunities that played out in the innings ahead of us.

Roki Sasaki having to come in in the eighth, in a jam, to bail out Jack Dreyer's two-on, one-out situation. Tommy Edman, in one of his many defensive highlights this game (despite an error as well), nailing Isiah Kiner-Falefa at third to preserve a scoreless ninth. Ohtani IBBd in the ninth, only to be caught stealing in front of Mookie Betts (who continued his postseason malaise with a 1-for-8 showing last night, squandering multiple game-winning opportunities).

Davis Schneider thrown out at home in the tenth with a perfect throw by Edman and tag by Will Smith. Clayton Kershaw coming in with the bases loaded to relieve Emmet Sheehan (an admirable 2.2 IP with 2 Ks), to get a clutch ground out (Edman!) in the top of the 11th inning. (This was an especially gut-wrenching moment, as I was pretty certain the baseball gods were going to be cruel to Kershaw once again in the postseason, and yet we amazingly survived.)

And the Dodgers had so many chances that just didn't work out. Will Smith, Teoscar Hernandez, even Freeman himself all hit deep fly balls that died on the warning track due to the thick marine layer that you could feel like a soup, even from the stands. Said Max Muncy in The Athletic:

But as Game 3 went on, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy noticed dew on the grass and moisture on top of the dugout railing. After eight seasons with the Dodgers, Muncy knew what that meant. A marine layer had descended on Dodger Stadium, and good luck trying to hit the ball out.

“Nighttime here is really hard to hit,” Muncy said. “I’ve seen it so many times. Balls just die in the night.”

Freeman thought he possibly hit a homer in the 13th, but his 103.9-mph shot fell short of the 395-foot wall in center. He hit another ball to center 104.4 mph at a lower launch angle in the 15th, and got the same outcome.

Other Dodgers experienced similar frustration. Smith dropped his bat as if he hit a homer in the 14th, but his 101.5-mph drive got knocked down. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts thought Teoscar Hernández’s 101.4-mph blow had a chance in the 16th, but no, that one didn’t go out either.

Leading off the 18th, Freeman got another chance. And when Little left a 3-2 sinker in the heart of the plate, he connected again to center. This time, he hit the ball 107.4 mph at a 34-degree launch angle, the right combination to finally unlock a homer.

Did Freeman think it was gone?

“I was not sure,” he told me in his postgame interview on Fox. “Just because of the other couple. My swings were getting better and better as the game was going on. I’m just glad I was able to get the opportunity again.”

Throughout all these moments, I was just staring at that beer, convinced that if I took one sip, it was going to cost the Dodgers the game. Every time we escaped the top of the inning scoreless--the Dodgers relievers pitched 13.1 scoreless innings following Tyler Glasnow's start--I knew that it was the right choice to abstain. And every time we failed to capitalize on an opportunity to win the game, I stared at that can of Michelob Ultra and wondered how much my jitters would have settled with a swig.

"You ever see the sun rise at Dodger Stadium?", I asked Ms. Sax.

She did not find that very funny. She kept imploring the Dodgers to win it, screaming "I want to go home!". But I did ask (politely, albeit a bit disingenuously) if she wanted to leave early, and there was no way she was going to leave early.

"I'm too invested at this stage," she said. "Let's win this."

Will Klein, the last Dodger pitcher available, entered the game in the top of the 15th inning. This is a guy who wasn't even on any of the other postseason rosters for the Dodgers this year. But we had no other options.

And Will Klein was the man last night.

With every inning that of the four he pitched (72 pitches total, which was twice what he had ever thrown in any major league appearance of his life), more and more of the Dodgers' relief corps were up on the top step of the bullpen, cheering him on and giving him strength. Klein gave up a two-out single to Guerrero in the 15th, then had clean 16th and 17th innings (including a sweet comebacker off of Davis Schneider to end the 17th). And then in the 18th inning, Klein got out of a bases-loaded jam by striking out backup catcher Tyler Heineman, to preserve the scoreless frame.

The beer taunted me, throughout Klein's labors.

I resisted.

And then, finally, came the Freeman home run, in the bottom of the 18th inning. Freeman was the first batter of this inning. And I have to say, when he hit it, it looked like it had a shot to win the game--but so had so many of the other fly balls that game, so who knows? Only when Daulton Varsho started climbing the wall in center did I realize that this one was going to clear the fence by enough.

The Dodgers WIN.

The place went nuts. Freeman, in extras, in the World Series, again. The only man to have multiple walkoff home runs in the World Series, ever.

I hugged Ms. Sax. We slapped hands with everyone around us. We watched Freddie stomp on home plate and the team explode. Pandemonium ensued.

And then I grabbed that can of semi-cold Michelob Ultra and drank all 25 ounces in one bacchanalian quaff.

What an amazing ending.

What an amazing game.

What an amazing beer. (And who ever said that about Michelob Ultra?!)

2025 World Series Game 3 Rally Towel: LET’S DO THIS!!!

2025 World Series Game 3 Thread: Oct 27 vs. Blue Jays, 5p

Tyler Glasnow vs. Max Scherzer.

One starter has long flowing locks of hair; the other guy has two goofy heterochromatic eyes.

One starter made his last start at Dodger Stadium (5.2 IP of 3 H, 1 ER, 8 K ball against the Brewers; coming off a gutty 6.0 IP of 2 H, 0 ER, 8 K ball clinching against the Phillies in the NLDS).

The other guy did not make his last scheduled Dodger start. (To be fair to Scherzer, his K of the Giants' Wilmer Flores in the 2021 NLDS was pretty sweet.)

With the series tied, this Game 3 is pretty pivotal. The Dodgers' bats, particularly the big three, still haven't come to life this series; and there's a lot of talk about whether to bench Andy Pages and his .093 average (Pages also does not have a walk in 47 2025 postseason plate appearances...or 67 postseason plate appearances including last season. He had 29 walks in 624 plate appearances (almost 5%) in the regular season.).

And given Glasnow has not gone long in any of his postseason starts, it's going to be up to the Dodgers bullpen at some point, which is terrifying.

I'm going to tonight's Game 3. I feel really lucky...and extremely nervous!

LET'S GO, DODGERS!