In the early twilight hours of the evening, when one of baseball’s most remarkable nights still felt comparatively normal, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made a prediction.
“Ultimately,” Roberts said during an in-game interview with the Fox television broadcast in the fourth inning, as both starting pitchers were struggling through their outings, “it’s gonna be a battle of the bullpens tonight.”
Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off home run to center field in the 18th inning of a 6-5 win for the Dodgers in a World Series Game 3 turned out to be so much more.
It was a test of mental mettle.