CLOSE SportsPulse: Both the Red Sox and the Dodgers take the mic following Los Angeles' Game 3 victory. USA TODAY

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig celebrates after hitting an RBI single in the 13th inning. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports)

World Series Game 3 between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers reached epic proportions.

The Dodgers, thanks to a walk off homer by Max Muncy, outlasted the Red Sox with a 3-2 victory in 18 innings, shattering the World Series record for longest game in history - in time and frames.

The two franchises have been down this path before. The last time they met in a World Series, in 1916, the Brooklyn Robins and Red Sox went 14 innings and Babe Ruth pitched a complete game for a 2-1 victory.

The longest game in World Series history, in terms of innings, before Friday's marathon? Fourteen innings. It had been done three times.

1916, Game 2: Brooklyn Robins beat the Red Sox, 2-1.

2005, Game 3: Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros, 7-5.

2015, Game 1: Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets, 5-4.

The longest game in World Series history, by time?

2005, Game 3: White Sox-Astros, 5 hours, 41 minutes

Friday night's game at Dodger Stadium lasted 7 hours, 20 minutes -- longer than the game time of the entire 1939 World Series, according to StatsByStats. That year, the New York Yankees swept the Cincinnati Reds in four games that took a combined 7 hours, 5 minutes.

Game 3 also became the longest game in postseason history. Game 2 of the 2014 National League Championship Series between the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals went 6 hours, 23 minutes.

Follow Boeck on Twitter @scott_boeck</s>Boston Red Sox’s Eduardo Nunez is upended by Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes while Barnes tried to field a wild pitch during the 13th inning in Game 3 of the World Series baseball game on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

LOS ANGELES — Exhausting and then exhilarating for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Max Muncy’s home run leading off the bottom of the 18th inning finally ended the longest World Series game in history early Saturday and gave Los Angeles a 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox that drew the Dodgers to 2-1 in the best-of-seven Series.

While the Dodgers mobbed Muncy at home plate, the Red Sox will rue one that got away.

They were oh-so-close in the 13th to taking a huge 3-0 lead. But second baseman Ian Kinsler’s wide throw on a two-out grounder by Yasiel Puig let Los Angeles score the tying run in a game that lasted 7 hours, 20 minutes.

Muncy later homered to left-centre off Nathan Eovaldi, jolting the remaining fans to their feet at 12:30 a.m. A grinning Muncy tossed his helmet in the air as he headed for third.

Recalling Kirk Gibson’s winning pinch-hit homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Muncy came within feet of ending it in the bottom of the 15th. But his shot to right sailed just foul and he ended up striking out.

The battle of attrition had a bit of everything, including 18 pitchers and 27 position players.

Long after rookie Walker Buehler dazzled over seven shutout innings for the Dodgers, things got interesting.

The Red Sox tied it 1-all in the eighth and took a 2-1 lead in the 13th.

The Dodgers answered with the tying run in the bottom of the inning.

After Dodgers centre fielder Cody Bellinger made the throw of his life in the 10th, both teams scored on bizarre errors in the 13th.

Boston manager Alex Cora used starter David Price in relief, rotated his outfielders in the middle of innings and even put catcher Christian Vazquez at first base for the first time in his big league career.

Out of position players, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called on ace Clayton Kershaw to pinch-hit in the 17th. He flied out.

The stadium organist was busy, too, launching into “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in the 14th inning — a second version of the seventh-inning stretch. Not many had left by then.

The crowd cheered when the stadium clock reached midnight.

Game 4 is Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Eovaldi was scheduled to start for the Red Sox, but he threw 97 pitches in relief as one of nine pitchers they used. Left-hander Rich Hill starts for the Dodgers.

The Red Sox had a wild 13th, with a walk, a steal, an infield hit and an error before taking a 2-1 lead.

Brock Holt drew a leadoff walk and stole second. Pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez got flipped on his back by catcher Austin Barnes as he chased Scott Alexander’s wild pitch.

Nunez then reached on a nubber to the right side and Alexander botched the throw to first, allowing Holt to score. Nunez got knocked on his back again in the play at first, but stayed in the game since the Boston had no one left on its bench.

The Dodgers tied it 2-all in the bottom of the 13th. Muncy drew a leadoff walk and tagged up when Nunez tumbled into the third base stands after catching Cody Bellinger’s pop foul. Muncy scored when Kinsler botched the throw to first on Yasiel Puig’s infield single.

Boston’s Jackie Bradley Jr. tied it 1-all with a homer off closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth.

RELATED: Price is right for Red Sox in Game 2 win

The Dodgers led 1-0 on Joc Pederson’s two-out homer in the third.

Both teams squandered numerous chances. The Red Sox stranded runners in the 10th and 11th. The Dodgers left runners on in every inning from the fifth to the 11th.

Boston had runners at the corners in the 10th. Pedro Baez walked J.D. Martinez with one out and took third on Holt’s single to centre.

Bellinger started a sensational, inning-ending double play from centre field, catching Nunez’s pinch-hit fly and then firing to catcher Austin Barnes a few feet up the third-base line. Barnes made the tag as Kinsler came barrelling past and both players tumbled to the dirt.

The game began in 78-degree heat — 31 degrees warmer than at Fenway Park for the first two games.

Buehler stymied the Red Sox through seven scoreless innings. The right-hander retired his final 14 batters before leaving after 108 pitches. He allowed two hits, struck out seven and didn’t walk anyone.

Boston starter Rick Porcello gave up one run and three hits in 4 2/3 innings, struck out five and walked one.

Hill is 0-0 with a 2.61 ERA this post-season, starting once in the NLDS against Atlanta and once in the NLCS against Milwaukee. He also appeared in relief in Game 6 of the NLCS.</s>Max Muncy's walk-off home run in the 18th inning brought an end to Game 3 of the World Series, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox and cutting the series lead to 2-1.

The marathon was the longest game in World Series history by innings – 18 – and the longest postseason game ever at 7 hours, 20 minutes. The game began at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday, going until 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

There's not much time for the teams to lick their wounds, as they get right back at it for Game 4 on Saturday at Dodger Stadium (8:09 p.m. ET, Fox).

9 – number of pitchers each team used – first time in postseason history

8 – Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts became the first player in postseason history to go 0-for-8</s>Boston Red Sox’s Craig Kimbrel throws during the ninth inning of Game 2 of the World Series baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, in Boston. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

BOSTON — From playoff flop to World Series ace in one legacy-changing October, David Price earned his second post-season victory in a row Wednesday night and delivered the Boston Red Sox their second straight World Series win.

The Red Sox left-hander pitched six innings of three-hit ball, and major league RBI leader J.D. Martinez broke a fifth-inning tie with a two-run single during another two-out rally to lead Boston to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a 2-0 lead in the World Series.

Game 3 is Friday in Los Angeles. The Dodgers need a win to avoid an 0-3 deficit that no World Series team has ever recovered from.

The Red Sox have won 14 of their last 16 World Series games, dating to a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004.

Not bad for a team that went 86 years without a championship before then.

And Price had battled a curse of his own.

Price had been 0-9 in his first 10 post-season starts and his team had never won a playoff game he started before this year. Boston has now won his last three starts, including the ALCS Game 5 clincher against the defending champion Astros in which he pitched six shutout innings.

On a frigid night at Fenway Park, Price held the highest-scoring team in the NL hitless through three innings and retired the last seven batters he faced. He struggled only in the fourth, loading the bases with nobody out on two singles and a walk, to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead — their first of the Series.

But the 108-win Red Sox pulled ahead, and once again they waited until there were two outs to do it.

In an uncanny stretch of clutch hitting that has been their hallmark throughout the season, the Red Sox scored all four of their runs in Game 2 with two outs, including a three-run rally in the fifth that only started after Hyun-Jin Ryu set down Ian Kinsler and Jackie Bradley Jr.

Christian Vazquez singled, Mookie Betts did the same and Andrew Benintendi worked the count full before walking to load the bases, chasing Ryu. Ryan Madson walked Steve Pearce to tie the game before Martinez, who had 130 RBIs in the regular season, dropped a soft line drive in front of right fielder Yasiel Puig to score two more and give Boston a 4-2 lead.

Price and three relievers retired the last 16 Los Angeles batters, with Craig Kimbrel closing the Dodgers down in a perfect ninth for his sixth save this post-season.

Boston’s other run came on Kinsler’s two-out single in the second. The Red Sox, who led the majors in two-out runs in the regular season, have scored 36 of their 68 runs this post-season — and nine of their 12 in the Series — with two outs.

And now it’s the Dodgers in a hole.

The last 10 teams to win the first two games of the World Series — and 16 of the last 17 — have gone on to win it all. And the NL West champions will need to do it against a team that has won six straight post-season games and five in a row on the road.

One night after getting four hits, Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi made a leaping, spread-eagle catch to rob Brian Dozier of an extra-base hit leading off the fifth. With the ball tailing away from him toward the corner, Benintendi jumped, kicked and pulled it in a few feet in front of the Green Monster scoreboard.

The teams head to the West Coast for Game 3 at Dodger Stadium on Friday. Rookie right-hander Walker Buehler is scheduled to pitch for Los Angeles against likely Boston starter Rick Porcello.</s>Max Muncy’s home run leading off the bottom of the 18th inning finally ended the longest World Series game in history early Saturday

Los Angeles Dodgers tear off Max Muncy’s jersey after his walk off home run during the 18th inning in Game 3 of the World Series baseball game to defeat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Exhausted yet exhilarated, the Dodgers headed home for a catnap. The Red Sox may well toss and turn thinking about one that got away.

Max Muncy’s home run leading off the bottom of the 18th inning finally ended the longest World Series game in history early Saturday and gave Los Angeles a 3-2 victory over Boston that drew the Dodgers to 2-1 in the best-of-seven matchup.

Muncy homered to left-centre on a full-count pitch from Nathan Eovaldi, jolting the remaining fans to their feet at 12:30 a.m. A grinning Muncy tossed his helmet aside as he headed for third in the final scene of a pivotal game that lasted 7 hours, 20 minutes.

“The feeling was just pure joy and incredible excitement,” he said.

The Dodgers mobbed Muncy at home plate, celebrating the solo shot that pulled them back from the brink of a potential 3-0 Series deficit that no team has ever recovered from.

The Red Sox could only rue their near-miss.

They were oh-so-close in the 13th to taking a commanding Series lead. But veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler’s wide throw on a two-out grounder by Yasiel Puig let Los Angeles score the tying run.

“Had the last out in my glove and couldn’t get it over there. It’s tough to swallow,” Kinsler said.

“I feel like I let the team down right there,” he said.

Said Red Sox manager Alex Cora: “It was just a bad night.”

“We had some situations that we could have put them away and then we didn’t. And at the end we paid the price,” he said.

Evoking memories of Kirk Gibson’s winning pinch-hit homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Muncy came within feet of ending it in the bottom of the 15th. But his shot to right sailed just foul and he ended up striking out.

“I really thought I had it,” Muncy said. “That was kind of defeating at that point, but I was able to get back and get another shot.”

The battle of attrition had a bit of everything: 46 players, including 18 pitchers, and 561 pitches. Never before had a Series game gone more than 14 innings.

Two games in one, really. And a fall classic, indeed.

“It was a must-win for us. Our guys just persevered,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

How long did they play? Put it this way: The game took 15 minutes more than the entire 1939 World Series when the Yankees swept Cincinnati, STATS said.

Long after rookie Walker Buehler dazzled over seven shutout innings for the Dodgers, things got interesting.

The Red Sox tied it 1-all in the eighth on a homer by Jackie Bradley Jr. and took a 2-1 lead in the 13th.

Los Angeles answered with the tying run in the bottom of the inning.

After Dodgers centre fielder Cody Bellinger made the throw of his life in the 10th, both teams scored on bizarre errors in the 13th.

Cora used starter David Price in relief, rotated his outfielders in the middle of innings and even put catcher Christian Vazquez at first base for the first time in his big league career.

Out of position players, Roberts called on ace Clayton Kershaw to pinch-hit in the 17th. He flied out.

The stadium organist was busy, too, launching into “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in the 14th inning — a second version of the seventh-inning stretch. Not many had left by then.

The crowd cheered when the stadium clock struck midnight.

“What a ballgame. What a marathon,” Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said. “Unbelievable fight from our club.”

“I think my beard got about 3 inches longer.”

The Dodgers snacked on peanut butter and banana sandwiches whipped up by a team employee, and hung a bag of bananas over the dugout railing to change their luck.

Game 4 is later Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Eovaldi had been scheduled to start for the Red Sox, but he threw 97 pitches over six-plus innings in relief as one of nine pitchers they used. The Dodgers backtracked on Rich Hill and said they would announce a starter later.

“I’m a little tired, but we’re ready to come back tomorrow,” Los Angles slugger Yasiel Puig said, looking at his watch and adding, “in a couple of hours.”

The Red Sox had a wild 13th with a walk, a steal, an infield hit and an error before taking a 2-1 lead.

Brock Holt drew a leadoff walk and stole second. Pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez got flipped on his back by catcher Austin Barnes as he chased Scott Alexander’s wild pitch.

Nunez then reached on a nubber to the right side and Alexander bungled the toss to first, allowing Holt to score. Nunez got knocked on his back again on the play at first, but stayed in the game as Boston had no one left on its bench.

The Dodgers tied it 2-all in the bottom of the 13th. Muncy drew a leadoff walk and tagged up when Nunez tumbled into the third base stands after catching Bellinger’s pop foul. Muncy scored when Kinsler botched the throw to first on Puig’s infield single.

Bradley Jr. tied it at 1 with a drive off closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth.

The Dodgers led 1-0 on Joc Pederson’s two-out homer in the third.

Both teams squandered numerous chances. The Red Sox stranded runners in the 10th and 11th. The Dodgers left runners on in every inning from the fifth to the 11th.

Boston had runners at the corners in the 10th. Pedro Baez walked J.D. Martinez with one out and took third on Holt’s single to centre.

Bellinger started a sensational, inning-ending double play from centre field, catching Nunez’s pinch-hit fly and then firing to catcher Austin Barnes a few feet up the third-base line. Barnes made the tag as Kinsler came barrelling past and both players tumbled to the dirt.

The game began in 78-degree heat — 31 degrees warmer than at Fenway Park for the first two games.

Buehler stymied the Red Sox through seven innings. The right-hander retired his final 14 batters before leaving after 108 pitches. He allowed two hits, struck out seven and didn’t walk anyone.

“He’s got an overt confidence, a quiet confidence, a little combo,” Roberts said. “But he’s got tremendous stuff, and he lives for moments like this.”

Boston starter Rick Porcello gave up one run and three hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.

Previously, the longest post-season game by time was San Francisco’s 18-inning win over Washington that took 6 hours, 23 minutes, during the 2014 NL Division Series. The only other playoff game to last 18 innings was Houston’s victory over Atlanta in the 2005 NLDS.

The Red Sox had won six straight games, starting in the ALCS. They had been 5-0 on the road this post-season.

Dodgers: After the game, the team said its starter would be announced later. Left-hander Rich Hill had been set to go.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.</s>BOSTON -- Behind a strong outing from starter David Price, the Boston Red Sox won their 117th game of 2018 and their sixth straight postseason victory on Wednesday in Game 2 of the World Series by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2.

The Red Sox took an early lead off Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu in the bottom of the second, when Xander Bogaerts’ long double off the left-center field portion of the Green Monster put him in position to score on an Ian Kinsler single.

Price looked sharp from the start, allowing no hits over the first three innings before running into his first -- and only -- trouble in the fourth. David Freese led off the inning with an opposite-field liner that bounced just in front of Mookie Betts’ glove for a single. Manny Machado followed with a single up the middle, then Chris Taylor worked out a full-count walk to load the bases with Dodgers with no outs. Freese would score on a Matt Kemp sacrifice fly, and after an Enrique Hernandez strikeout, Yasiel Puig knocked a single to center that scored Machado to give Los Angeles its first lead of the series.

Ryu looked apt to match Price until things fell apart for him with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. The left-hander left the game after two singles and a walk loaded the bases, and for the second straight night, veteran reliever Ryan Madson allowed all his inherited runners to score. A walk to Steve Pearce forced in the tying run before a J.D. Martinez liner to right field drove home two more.
• Boston's No. 9 hitter not to be forgotten

The Dodgers were still sitting on their first lead of the World Series with two outs and no one on base in the Red Sox’s half of the fifth when things unraveled swiftly for Ryu. A pair of singles put two runners on base for Andrew Benintendi. The Red Sox’s left fielder worked the count full, fouled off a pair of good curveballs, then took a fastball well below the zone for a walk. The free pass loaded the bases and forced Ryu from the game in favor of Madson, who walked home the tying run then allowed the two-run single by Martinez that gave Boston a two-run lead.

Price went winless in his first 11 career postseason starts, but took his second straight playoff victory with his Game 2 effort. The left-hander relied heavily on his changeup to get swings-and-misses in his stellar, series-clinching ALCS Game 5 start in Houston, but on Wednesday succeeded by mixing locations with fastballs and keeping Dodgers hitters off balance to yield weak contact. Price allowed only three hits and two runs in six innings while striking out five and walking three in the win.

The Dodgers return to Los Angeles looking to climb back into the series, at risk of the Red Sox finishing them off at Dodger Stadium before the World Series moves back to Boston for potential Games 6 and 7. They’ll turn to rookie right-hander Walker Buehler for the start in Friday’s Game 3. Buehler went 8-5 with a 2.62 ERA in 24 regular-season outings. He got his first career postseason off to a shaky start and took the Dodgers’ lone NLDS loss in Atlanta, but rebounded in the NLCS with a solid outing in a Game 3 loss and a strong 4 ⅔-inning start in the deciding Game 7.

Cora has not yet committed to a Game 3 starter, but said before Wednesday’s game that it would either be Nathan Eovaldi or Rick Porcello, depending on whether he needed either or both out of the bullpen in Game 2. Since Eovaldi worked the eighth inning on Wednesday, Porcello will presumably get the nod, with Eovaldi then following in Game 4. Porcello last pitched in Game 4 of the ALCS, when he allowed four runs in four innings in the Red Sox’s wildest win of the postseason to date. Porcello has a career 5.09 ERA in 35 ⅓ innings across 15 playoff outings.</s>The Boston Red Sox will go for a commanding 3-0 lead in the World Series and try to stay unbeaten on the road this postseason Friday, when they visit the Los Angeles Dodgers as road underdogs at sportsbooks for Game 3. The Red Sox are 5-0 away from home in the playoffs, averaging eight runs per game.

MLB betting line: The Dodgers opened as -155 favorites (wager $155 to win $100); the total is at 7.5 runs, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Line updates and matchup report.



Check out the OddsShark podcast on iTunes or Spotify or at OddsShark.libsyn.com for more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week's top sports betting news.

Why the Red Sox Can Pay on the MLB Lines

All the pressure is on Los Angeles to perform, putting Boston in an ideal position. The worst-case scenario is the Red Sox lose three in a row at Dodger Stadium and return home for Game 6 in a must-win situation, but they have dropped three straight only once in the previous two months.

Rick Porcello (17-7, 4.28 ERA) will get the call in Game 3 and was great on the road during the regular season with a 10-3 mark and 3.86 ERA. In the postseason, Porcello started the team's 8-6 win over the Houston Astros in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, giving up four runs in four innings. Prior to that, he allowed one run in six innings in the playoffs.

Why the Dodgers Can Pay on the MLB Lines

The Dodgers have not lost three consecutive games since August 22, so the odds are against that trend repeating itself here, especially in L.A. Manager Dave Roberts will get his big hitters back in the starting lineup, including outfielder Cody Bellinger.

The Dodgers will also turn to rookie pitcher Walker Buehler (8-5, 2.62 ERA) in this key spot, as he was 4-3 with a 1.93 ERA in 13 regular-season games at home, limiting opposing hitters to a .174 batting average. Buehler is coming off an outstanding effort in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, surrendering only one run on a solo home run and six hits overall in a 5-1 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Boston has won 14 of its past 16 World Series games en route to taking home three titles. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has struggled offensively, getting outscored 12-6 in the first two games. The weather will be much warmer in Los Angeles, which should benefit both offenses, so there is no advantage for the home team. Bet the Red Sox to continue their road run.

The total has gone over in 12 of Boston's past 16 games.

The total has gone over in seven of Boston's past 10 games on the road.

Boston is 5-0 in its past five games on the road.

All MLB odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.</s>It seemed as if the game would go on forever. The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers kept battling into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Finally, Max Muncy put an end to the drama. He homered in the bottom of the 18th inning, driving a pitch from Boston relief pitcher Nathan Eovaldi over the left-field wall to end a seven-hour, 20-minute game. It was the longest game in World Series history, both in innings and time.

The home run gave the Dodgers a 3-2 victory in Game 3, allowing Los Angeles to narrow the World Series gap to 2-1.

Game 4 is scheduled to start at 8:09 p.m. ET on Saturday and will be televised by Fox.

Joc Pederson homered in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead Friday, and Jackie Bradley Jr. belted a tying home run in the eighth inning.

The Red Sox took the lead in the 13th inning on a walk by Brock Holt, a stolen base and infield hit by Eduardo Nunez. The Dodgers ended up tying it with two outs in the bottom of the inning on an infield hit by Yasiel Puig and a poor throw by Ian Kinsler as he attempted nail Puig.

Kinsler had lost his balance after making the pick up, and Puig appeared to be no more than halfway down the line. If he had steadied himself, it seemed that Kinsler had the time to throw Puig out. But it didn't work out that way.

The Dodgers will attempt to level the series with Rich Hill on the mound, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora was not ready to announce his starter after the game.

"How do you say it," Cora said. "TBA."

As Cora's postgame press conference wore on, he said "it most likely will be a lefty."

Eovaldi pitched remarkably in relief, coming in at the start of the 12th inning and throwing 97 pitches and keeping the Red Sox in the game. "Nate was unbelievable tonight," Cora said. "You can't ask for more of an effort than he gave tonight. He was basically perfect."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was equally effusive about Eovaldi. "Even though he did it to us, Eovaldi was remarkable," Roberts said. "He was unbelievable for that team."

As good as Eovaldi was to finish the game, Los Angeles starter Walker Buehler was equally impressive at the start of the game. He pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out seven without allowing a base on balls.

The likely starter for Boston seems to be either Game 1 starter Chris Sale or Eduardo Rodriguez. Sale would be pitching on three days' rest, and that could be risky because he has struggled with shoulder issues in the second half of the season.

Rodriguez pitched to just one batter Friday night, and he has been limited in the postseason. However, Rodriquez was 13-5 in the regular season with a 3.82 earned-run average, and he struck out 146 hitters in 129.2 innings.

Drew Pomeranz, who was added to the roster prior to the World Series, could also have a chance to start for the Red Sox.

The Game 3 loss seemed quite costly for the Red Sox. While they still lead in the World Series, Cora used Rick Porcello to start the game, and he pitched 4.2 innings. Game 2 starter David Price pitched 0.2 innings, and Eovaldi pitched for more than six.

Cora has to scramble to find a starter for Game 4, and his bullpen is depleted. Meanwhile, Rich Hill gets the start in Game 4, and that's just how Roberts planned it.

The pendulum was swinging toward the Red Sox after the first two games, but it appears to be going toward the Dodgers following Friday's marathon.

Look for Los Angeles to win Game 4 and square this suddenly remarkable World Series.</s>LOS ANGELES — The ball dropped after midnight, and it was a new gear for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For more than seven hours over 18 innings with the Boston Red Sox, there was no give. There was no take. There was only grunting and swinging, stretching and screaming. There was the longest World Series game ever played, both in innings and time, a duel that started in the late afternoon sun when the first pitch was thrown at 5:10 p.m. local time and ended, finally, under the cover of darkness at 12:30 a.m.

Then after Walker Buehler's fire, Nathan Eovaldi's smoke, Rick Porcello's tears and Brian Dozier's bananas, the ball dropped. Bottom of the 18th, full-count, Max Muncy rifled an opposite-field shot that fell just over the left-center field fence and delivered the Dodgers a 3-2 Game 3 win that felt like so much more.

Two jewel franchises with a combined World Series-record $428 million payroll had just authored a classic.

But this also might have been the night the Dodgers flipped the script.

The effects of this hard day's night likely will reverberate through Games 4 and 5, if not longer. They have to. Two teams cannot play gut-wrenching ball with high leverage on every single pitch over a full seven hours and 20 minutes without repercussions. And when Boston manager Alex Cora summoned his announced Game 4 starter, Eovaldi, out of the bullpen to go for the jugular to start the 12th inning with the score 1-1, it was a bold move.

But 97 pitches later, as Muncy's game-winner disappeared over the fence, Red Sox pitching suddenly appears in danger of being trapped in a Los Angeles gridlock.

Cora ripped through nine pitchers while attempting to seize a 3-0 series lead, including his Game 2 starter David Price (13 pitches in the ninth) and his closer Craig Kimbrel (28 pitches in the ninth and 10th). Eovaldi has now worked in each of these three World Series games.

Without Eovaldi, Boston's Game 4 starter Saturday will be?

"How do you spell that, TBA," Cora said. "TBA."

The short answer: lefty Drew Pomeranz? He was the only available pitcher on the roster who did not throw in Game 3. Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez? He's been a swingman, and he only threw six pitches Friday night. Ace Chris Sale on short rest? Come on, after he missed significant time with a sore shoulder in the season's second half?

There appear to be no other options.

What a night. Fact: You could have been in Los Angeles when this game started and in Boston when it ended. Flying time on a nonstop between the cities is about five-and-a-half hours.

"This game was unbelievable," said Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who did not pitch. "It was an incredible experience."

Kershaw pinch-hit—yes, pinch-hit—for reliever Julio Urias in the 17th and banged a hard-hit fly ball to Mookie Betts in right field.

It wasn't exactly how he envisioned it. No, he thought he'd get a chance in the 16th.

"I had visions in my head before Freezer [David Freese] struck out [in the 16th]. What I saw was Freezer doubling, then them walking [Enrique Hernandez] to get to me, and me with the game-winning hit. But that didn't work out."

A lot of stuff didn't work out—before it finally did for the Dodgers.

Together, the Dodgers and Red Sox combined for 131 plate appearances, 18 pitchers used and 561 total pitches.

The top four spots in the Boston lineup—Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Mitch Moreland and J.D. Martinez—combined to go 0-for-23.

There was a 14th-inning stretch—yes, Dodgers organist Dieter Ruehle played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for the second time. The crowd of 53,114—an impressive percentage of whom stuck it out until the end—roared when they displayed "12:00" on the Jumbotron scoreboard in the 17th inning. Then they blasted Wilson Pickett's classic "In the Midnight Hour" going into the 18th.

"We were all snacking," Kershaw said. "Tyrone [one of the clubbies] made us some peanut butter-and-banana sandwiches, so we were well-fueled."

The Dodgers started the night well-fueled thanks to Buehler, who fired seven impressive shutout innings in a game Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts called "must-win." The kid is 24 years old going on Legend. A year ago, he watched Game 2 of the World Series from an upper-deck seat in the left-field corner of Dodger Stadium. Friday night, he stared hard at his World Series debut...and the World Series blinked.

"Certain people can handle a moment like this and understand what was at stake tonight," Roberts said of Buehler. "And we needed his best effort. And we needed him to go deeper than their starter, log some innings. Some guys run from it. Some guys can't answer the bell."

The bell answered to Buehler. Whenever that day comes when Kershaw is finished in Los Angeles, it will be Buehler who eases the sting for Los Angeles fans.

"You can't say enough about Walker," Freese said. "He's a playoff stud. I don't know what to say about the guy. He's just a bulldog. He's had the ball in some very meaningful games."

He left with a 1-0 lead, but closer Kenley Jansen surrendered a game-tying home run to Jackie Bradley Jr. with two out in the eighth. Forced to play without a DH in the NL park, Cora opted to bench Andrew Benintendi instead of Bradley, and Bradley rewarded him.

In the moment, it appeared as if that dagger could have been fatal to the Dodgers. No team has ever come back to win a World Series after losing the first three games, and Boston appeared to be gaining momentum.

Also in the moment, nobody could know that they would be playing for, oh, another four hours or so.

"The seventh to ninth innings, I took a nap," quipped Freese, who, in pinch-hitting for reliever Dylan Floro, became the last position player to enter the game from either team as both Roberts and Cora emptied their benches.

By the time Freese entered, Eovaldi was well into what should have been a heroic evening. After twice coming back from Tommy John surgery in his career, Eovaldi was acquired by Boston from Tampa Bay on July 25 and will be a free agent this winter. He's already made himself a lot of money this month by emerging as one of Boston's most dependable and dominant pitchers, but he outdid himself Friday.

Only three times in his 22 appearances this summer—21 of which were starts—did Eovaldi throw more than the 97 pitches he fired in Game 3. He hit 100 mph when he entered in the 12th and was still clocking in the high 90s five innings later.

"Effort-wise...that was one of the best performances, probably, in World Series history," Cora said.

Eovaldi nearly left with a smile, and much earlier. Boston scored a run in the 13th inning when Brock Holt walked, was wild-pitched to second and then scored from there on Eduardo Nunez's infield single when pitcher Scott Alexander threw wild to first.

But in the bottom of the inning, with two out and Muncy on second, Yasiel Puig drove a ground ball up the middle that Ian Kinsler ranged over, scooped up...and then threw wild to first, tying the game at 2-2.

"I had the last out in my glove, and we ended up playing however many innings, 18 innings, 19 innings, whatever," a dejected Kinsler said. "I had an opportunity to end the game right there, and it didn't happen."

Kinsler's right foot slipped as he turned to make the throw, digging up a large divot in the Dodger Stadium turf. His mistake was in rushing, off-balance, rather than either setting himself to throw or simply deciding to hold the ball, which would have left runners at the corners with two out and Boston still leading.

He apologized to Eovaldi afterward, but the pitcher told him not to worry about it, that they are all in this together.

"We're a team," Eovaldi told Kinsler. "I know you've got my back."

And, he added, "I've got his."

It was such a gutty, gritty performance that Porcello, who started and surrendered one run and three hits in 4.2 innings, said it left him in tears.

"That was the most incredible pitching performance I've ever seen," Porcello said.

"Everybody definitely had my back...tonight," Eovaldi said. "That means a lot to me. As a player, that's pretty much all you can ask for, your teammates to have your back and things like that."

If not for Muncy, who drove another ball into the seats but foul in the 15th, Boston may well be on deck to sweep this series, and we'd be talking about Eovaldi the rest of the winter.

Instead, Muncy in the 18th whacked the first walk-off World Series home run since...Freese, for St. Louis, in the 11th inning of Game 6 of the 2011 World Series against Texas.

"That's cool," said Freese, who didn't know that until a reporter informed him after the game. "I'm just happy to be part of it."

Not that he—or any other Dodger—could remember many of the details.

"The 13th?" Kershaw repeated when asked about the clubs trading one run each in that inning to play even deeper into the night. "What happened in the 13th?"

"You know, to be honest, as the game kept going, you look up and see the 18th inning, and you're like, 'Holy cow, where did the game go?'" Muncy said. "But those last nine innings or so just kind of blended together."

As the last several Dodgers batted, Dozier swung three bananas tied together by long shoelaces like a pendulum over the dugout railing in an apparent throwback to Hernandez's rally banana days from 2015.

"Especially when you're on the outside looking in, kind of like a fan," Freese said. "Then you get in a handful of hours later…."

As he sat in the dugout waiting to be called, Freese continued to be amazed by what he watched around him, especially as Boston came so close to taking a 3-0 series lead and placing the Dodgers on the endangered species list.

"These guys are so relaxed," Freese said. "I haven't been around this group very long ... every now and then, they'll flip helmets or flip words, but man, they do a good job of turning the page."

"Gut-wrenching game for both sides," Muncy said. "This is one of those games that whoever came out on top is going to have a lot of momentum going into tomorrow."

A lot of momentum, but precious little sleep.

"Most people thought it was over when [Boston] scored their second run," Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger said. "I don't even know what inning that was."

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball.</s>The Red Sox left-hander pitched six innings of three-hit ball, and major league RBI leader J.D. Martinez broke a fifth-inning tie with a two-run single during another two-out rally to lead Boston to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a 2-0 lead in the World Series.

BOSTON—From playoff flop to World Series ace in one legacy-changing October, David Price earned his second post-season victory in a row Wednesday night and delivered the Boston Red Sox their second straight World Series win.

Game 3 is Friday in Los Angeles. The Dodgers need a win to avoid an 0-3 deficit that no World Series team has ever recovered from.

Not bad for a team that went 86 years without a championship before then.

The Red Sox have won 14 of their last 16 World Series games, dating to a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004.

So what changed for Price, who said he found something while warming up in the bullpen late in Game 4 at Houston?

Price had been 0-9 in his first 10 post-season starts and his team had never won a playoff game he started before this year. Boston has now won his last three starts, including the ALCS Game 5 clincher against the defending champion Astros in which he pitched six shutout innings.

“I have,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in being able to evolve from pitch to pitch or day to day or game to game. Being able to make adjustments on the fly, it’s paid off.”

On a frigid night at Fenway Park, Price held the highest-scoring team in the NL hitless through three innings and retired the last seven batters he faced. He struggled only in the fourth, loading the bases with nobody out on two singles and a walk, to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead — their first of the Series.

But the 108-win Red Sox pulled ahead, and once again they waited until there were two outs to do it.

In an uncanny stretch of clutch hitting that has been their hallmark throughout the season, the Red Sox scored all four of their runs in Game 2 with two outs, including a three-run rally in the fifth that only started after Hyun-Jin Ryu set down Ian Kinsler and Jackie Bradley Jr.

Christian Vazquez singled, Mookie Betts did the same and Andrew Benintendi worked the count full before walking to load the bases, chasing Ryu. Ryan Madson walked Steve Pearce to tie the game before Martinez, who had 130 RBIs in the regular season, dropped a soft line drive in front of right fielder Yasiel Puig to score two more and give Boston a 4-2 lead.

Price and three relievers retired the last 16 Los Angeles batters, with Craig Kimbrel closing the Dodgers down in a perfect ninth for his sixth save this post-season.

Boston’s other run came on Kinsler’s two-out single in the second. The Red Sox, who led the majors in two-out runs in the regular season, have scored 36 of their 68 runs this post-season — and nine of their 12 in the Series — with two outs.

And now it’s the Dodgers in a hole.

The last 10 teams to win the first two games of the World Series — and 16 of the last 17 — have gone on to win it all. And the NL West champions will need to do it against a team that has won six straight post-season games and five in a row on the road.
In baseball, game 3 of the World Series, in which the Boston Red Sox lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 3–2, extends to 18 innings and lasts 7 hours and 20 minutes, becoming by far the longest game in World Series history.