The Toronto Blue Jays lost Game 3 of the World Series in heartbreaking fashion on Monday.
After playing for six hours and 39 minutes, Freddie Freeman’s home run off Brendon Little lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-5 victory in 18 innings. The Dodgers lead the best-of-seven series, two games to one.
Toronto might have lost one of its best hitters, too.
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George Springer underwent an MRI because of “right side discomfort” after leaving the game in the middle of a seventh-inning at-bat, manager John Schneider said.
“We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Schneider said of Springer.
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Perhaps unbeknownst to the manager, “tomorrow” had already arrived by the time he spoke just after midnight in Los Angeles.
The Blue Jays and Dodgers are at it again when Game 4 of the World Series begins just after 5 p.m. local time Tuesday.
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Ty France replaced Springer after he was unable to finish the seventh inning at-bat. The Jays’ 36-year-old designated hitter has four home runs in the postseason, to go with a .246 batting average.
Now, the Blue Jays will wait to learn whether Springer will have another chance to add to his total — and extend the World Series.
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The Springer injury might have the most lasting implication of anything that happened in the epic 18-inning duel, but there were plenty of takeaways from the game.
Shohei Ohtani reached base nine times in the game, a World Series record. He hit two home runs and two doubles, tying a postseason record with 12 total bases in the game. He also drew four intentional walks — a record — and then a fifth, unintentionally, in his final plate appearance in the 17th inning.
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By the 18th, Dodgers reliever Will Klein was entering his fourth inning and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — the winner of Game 2 just two days earlier — was throwing in the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Ohtani will start Game 4 for the Dodgers on Tuesday. Whether he’ll face Springer remains to be seen.
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