Anyone paying close attention to the pregame festivities for Game 3 of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers knew something weird was going to happen.
Country music star Brad Paisley, a Dodgers fan, performed the National Anthem before the first pitch on Monday night. It was his fourth time singing at Dodger Stadium before a World Series game since 2017.
After Monday’s 18-inning thriller that saw the Dodgers win 6-5, MLB.com’s Theo DeRosa noted this was the fourth consecutive World Series game that Paisley performed at in Los Angeles that went to extra innings.
The other times it happened were Game 2 in 2017 against the Houston Astros, Game 3 in 2018 against the Boston Red Sox and Game 1 in 2024 against the New York Yankees.
Game 3 against the Red Sox seven years ago bears a lot of similarities to Monday’s marathon. It also went 18 innings before Max Muncy’s walk-off homer gave the Dodgers a 3-2 win. Even though it’s not in sole possession as the longest World Series game by innings, it remains the longest one by actual time (seven hours, 20 minutes).
Monday’s game “only” took six hours, 39 minutes to complete when Freddie Freeman finally ended it with a walk-off homer to lead off the bottom of the 18th.
Even though the games Paisley sings at go longer than expected, most of them do work out in the Dodgers’ favor. They are 3-1 in his four World Series games, with their lone defeat being against the Astros in 2017.
Given that Game 3 ended around 2:51 a.m. ET, just over 17 hours before first pitch on Tuesday, no one will be mad that Paisley isn’t scheduled to perform for Game 4 because it’s going to be hard enough for both teams to find enough pitchers with the energy to make it through nine innings.
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