Longest Extra-Inning Games in MLB Postseason History
Baseball’s postseason has produced some of the most demanding contests in professional sports. On rare nights, those games extend far past the usual limits by testing the depth of pitching staffs and the stamina of fans who refuse to leave their seats.
One such night came in 2025, when the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays battled through 18 innings in Game 3 of the World Series. The matchup joined a short but legendary list of playoff marathons that redefined the meaning of a nine-inning game and reminded everyone how unpredictable October baseball can be.
The Dodgers And Blue Jays Go The Distance
At Dodger Stadium, Game 3 of the 2025 World Series turned into an endurance test lasting six hours and 39 minutes. Freddie Freeman ended the marathon with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 18th inning, sealing a 6–5 victory for Los Angeles and tying the record for the longest World Series game by innings.
Shohei Ohtani reached base nine times—a postseason record—and hit two home runs. Max Scherzer, pitching in his fourth World Series with a different team, started for Toronto, while Ohtani and Freeman powered the Dodgers’ offense deep into the night.
Reliever Will Klein threw four scoreless innings to keep Los Angeles alive until Freeman’s homer brought one of the most dramatic games in postseason history to an end.
World Series Marathons That Came Before
The Dodgers’ win tied a record set in 2018, when Los Angeles defeated the Boston Red Sox 3–2 in an 18-inning World Series game that lasted seven hours and 20 minutes—the longest postseason game by duration. Max Muncy ended that one with a walk-off homer just after 3 a.m. local time.
Three other World Series games have gone 14 innings. In 2005, the Chicago White Sox outlasted the Houston Astros 7–5 in Game 3 and went on to sweep the series in four straight games. Ten years later, the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 5–4 in Game 1 of the 2015 Fall Classic.
The first 14-inning World Series game dates back to 1916, when Babe Ruth pitched all 14 innings for the Boston Red Sox in a 2–1 win over the Brooklyn Robins—the team that would later become the Dodgers.
Postseason Epics Beyond The Fall Classic
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Johnmaxmena2
The longest non–World Series playoff game remains the 18-inning duel between the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals in Game 2 of the 2014 National League Division Series. The Giants won 2–1 in six hours and 23 minutes, with Brandon Belt’s home run in the top of the 18th providing the decisive run. San Francisco went on to win the championship that year.
Houston has also been part of multiple postseason marathons. The Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 7–6 in 18 innings during Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS, ending it on Chris Burke’s walk-off homer.
In 2022, they outlasted the Seattle Mariners 1–0 in an 18-inning game decided by Jeremy Peña’s solo home run. That matchup lasted six hours and 22 minutes and featured a combined 42 strikeouts.
Fifteen Innings Of October Drama
In 2025, the Mariners made headlines again with a 15-inning Game 5 win over the Detroit Tigers in the AL Division Series. Jorge Polanco’s walk-off single sent Seattle to its first ALCS in 24 years.
Other memorable 15-inning thrillers include Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS, when the New York Mets beat the Braves 4–3 on Robin Ventura’s “grand slam single,” and Game 2 of the 1995 ALDS, when Jim Leyritz’s walk-off homer lifted the Yankees past the Mariners 7–5.
In recent years, such extended battles have become rare, largely due to rule changes like the pitch clock and new postseason tiebreaker formats.