From a fringe reliever shockingly finding his way onto the roster come 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 again in LA.
The Dodgers walked off the Toronto Blue Jays in an 18-inning thriller that was punctuated by a Freddie Freeman walk-off home run. They have a 2-1 lead in the Fall Classic and will start Game 4 just 17 hours after Game 3 ended.
More news: Dodgers Walk-Off Blue Jays in 18 Innings in World Series Game 3, Take 2-1 Lead
Klein tossed four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, and threw 72 grueling pitches to not only get the win when it was all said and done, but to position the Dodgers to eventually win the game. It was one of the most unlikely performances in MLB postseason history.
Who is Will Klein?
Klein is a 25-year-old right-hander born in Bloomington, IN. He made his first eight big league appearances for the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics last season, totaling an 11.05 ERA. After he was designated for assignment by the A’s ahead of the 2025 campaign and traded to the Seattle Mariners, he was once again DFA’d and dealt to the Dodgers this past June.
He was working with a 5.16 ERA across 20 appearances in Triple-A Oklahoma City, but through 14 games for the Dodgers at the major league level, had just a 2.35 ERA through 15.1 innings of work.
It appears that Klein has a knack for delivering on bigger stages.
Klein’s only appearance this postseason was during Game 1 of the World Series, tossing a scoreless inning to close out the 11-4 drubbing.
What he did on Monday was sensational. Klein had never thrown more than two innings in a single MLB outing heading into this game. Then, he pitched four shutout innings on the biggest stage to give LA a 2-1 lead in the series.
More news: What’s the Longest Game in World Series History?
Buy our brand new Will Klein shirt here:
Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Have you downloaded the new Dodgers Nation app yet? Click here for Apple Users and here for Android Users to be a part of the redesigned app to give fans everything they need, all in one place. Don’t miss out on live GameCast with play-by-play, news and analysis, Dodgers Nation podcasts and videos, all the stats you want and more!
