From a fringe reliever who shockingly found his way onto the roster in October to perhaps the reason the Los Angeles Dodgers stayed in Game 3 of the World Series, Will Klein will never have to pay for a drink in LA again.
The Dodgers ran away from the Toronto Blue Jays in an 18-inning thriller that was punctuated by a walk-off home run by Freddie Freeman. They have a 2-1 lead in the Fall Classic and will start Game 4 just 17 hours after the end of Game 3.
More news: Dodgers Walk-Off Blue Jays in 18 innings in World Series Game 3, takes 2-1 lead
Klein pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, and threw 72 grueling pitches to not only earn the victory when all was said and done, but position the Dodgers to ultimately win the game. It was one of the most improbable performances in the history of the MLB postseason.
Who is Will Klein?
Klein is a 25-year-old right-hander born in Bloomington, IN. Last season, he played his first eight big league games for the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics, totaling an 11.05 ERA. After being designated for assignment by the A’s prior to the 2025 campaign and traded to the Seattle Mariners, he was re-designated to DFA status last June and dealt to the Dodgers.
He posted a 5.16 ERA over 20 appearances in Triple-A Oklahoma City, but only had a 2.35 ERA over 15.1 innings of work during 14 games for the Dodgers at the Major League level.
It seems Klein has a knack for performing on bigger stages.
Klein’s only appearance this postseason came during Game 1 of the World Series, where he pitched a scoreless inning to cap the 11-4 thrashing.
What he did on Monday was sensational. Klein had never thrown more than two innings in a single MLB appearance leading up to this game. He then pitched four shutout innings on the biggest stage to give LA a 2-1 series lead.
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Photo credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn images
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