A Look at the Longest World Series Games

The Dodgers beat the Blue Jays in 18 innings during Game 3 of the World Series, matching a record, but there have been many marathons before.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman connects for a grand slam home run off Toronto Blue Jays’ pitcher Brendon Little during the 18th inning in Game 3 of the World Series in Los Angeles on Oct. 27, 2025. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto  Blue Jays delivered a classic in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday with an 18-inning marathon that ended with Dodgers catcher Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run and a final of 6–5.

The Dodgers and the Blue Jays matched the longest ever World Series game in terms of extra innings, but they came short of surpassing the time of the 2018 marathon between the Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox. Monday’s game was six hours and 39 minutes, but the 2018 contest went for seven hours and 20 minutes. That game also ended in Los Angeles in a walk-off home run by Dodgers infielder Max Muncy. The Red Sox ultimately won the series 4–3, but Muncy gave Dodgers fans something to remember.

Both 18-inning marathons ironically occurred in a Game 3.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who coached in both games, said it all after Monday’s game.

“It’s one of the greatest World Series games of all time. … I’m spent emotionally,” Roberts told reporters afterward.​

Longest World Series Game Stood for Nearly a Century

​Besides the Dodgers’ late-night, 18-inning World Series Games, there have been a few other World Series marathons throughout Major League Baseball history.

The next-longest one besides the Dodgers’ Game 3 adventure occurred in 2005, when the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros went 15 innings. That game lasted five hours and 41 minutes before the White Sox prevailed 7–5 when Geoff Blum hit a game-winning, two-run home run. Chicago ultimately swept the Astros 4–0.

The 15-inning game broke the old record of 14 innings set by the Brooklyn Robins (now the Dodgers) and the Boston Red Sox in 1916. Boston won 2–1 in 14 innings when Del Gainer walked off the Robins with a pinch-hit single, and the Red Sox went on to win the series in five games.​

Recent Extra-Inning Classics

​Houston played in a 10-inning scoring marathon in Game 5 of the 2017 series against the Dodgers. That one lasted five hours and 17 minutes before the Astros won 13–12 when Alex Bregman singled to drive home Derek Fisher.

The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets went 14 innings in the 2015 series—a Game 1 that lasted five hours and nine minutes. Kansas City won the game 5–4 on a sacrifice fly by Eric Hosmer. The Royals ultimately won the series 4–1.​

4-Hour World Series in Past 25 Years

In 2000, the Subway Series between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees went 12 innings for Game 1, which lasted four hours and 51 minutes. The Yankees won 4–3 when José Vizcaino hit a game-winning run batted in (RBI) single, and the Yankees won the series 4–1.

In 2022, the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Astros 6–5 in Game 1, which went 10 innings. Despite only one extra inning and 11 runs, that game went four hours and 34 minutes before Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto ended it on a  home run. Houston won the series 4–3.

For the 2011 series, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 10–9 in an 11-inning Game 6. That game lasted four hours and 33 minutes before David Freese homered for the Cardinals to win. St. Louis took the series in seven games.​

Championship-Hungry Teams Needed Extra Time

​When the Chicago Cubs ended a 108-year World Series championship drought in 2016, it took four hours and 28 minutes to settle Game 7 with the then-Cleveland Indians. Chicago won it 8–7 when Miguel Montero hit a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the 10th and pitcher Mike Montgomery closed it out in the bottom of the inning.

The following year, the Astros edged the Dodgers 7–6 in an 11-inning Game 2 during the 2017 series. That one lasted four hours and 19 minutes—the first of two epic extra-inning games in the series. Houston won a World Series for the first time ever in seven games over the Dodgers.

Boston and the Colorado Rockies also went four hours and 19 minutes once during the 2007 series. The Red Sox won that Game 3 in nine innings, 10–5, and the team took the series 4–0 for its second championship since 2004.​

Longest MLB Games Ever

​While the World Series has displayed some true marathons, there have been some regular-season doozies.

In 1920, the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Robins played a 26-inning game that ended in a 1–1  tie after three hours and 50 minutes. The White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers played the longest game ever in 1984. The game lasted eight hours and six minutes, until the White Sox edged the Brewers 7–6 in 25 innings.

A Cardinals-Mets game went 25 innings a decade earlier, but that one only lasted seven hours and four minutes. St. Louis prevailed 4–3.

Besides the 25-inning games, there have been three games that reached 24 innings, two that made it 23 innings, and two that reached 22 innings.