The Longest Playoff Baseball Games in MLB History

In the ALDS between the Tigers and Mariners we witnessed the longest winner-take-all game in postseason history. Game 5 at T-Mobile Park went 15 innings with Seattle walking it off to win 3-2 and advance to the ALCS.  How does this game compare to offers in playoff history?  Here are some of the longest postseason games of all time.

Game 3, 2018 World Series: Dodgers 3, Red Sox 2 — 18 innings

It was the longest playoff game, in terms of time as the Dodgers beat the Red Sox in 18 innings that went seven hours and 20 minutes.   L.A. ‘s win cut the World Series deficit to 2-1 as Max Muncy hit a walk-off home run in the 18th inning,  The teams combined to use 18 pitchers and 46 total players, both post season records.  With the victory, Los Angeles became the first team to ever win a World Series game after trailing in the 11th inning or later.  In the top of the 13th, an Eduardo Nunez infield single, coupled with a Dodgers error gave the Sox the lead but L.A. tied the game after a throwing error allowed Muncy to score from second.  The bullpens dueled until Muncy’s walk off. 

Game 3, 2022 ALDS  – Astros 1, Mariners 0 — 18 innings

In 2022, the Mariners and Astros played 18 innings that went  6 hours and 22 minutes and included 42 strikeouts and just one run as Houston took game 3, 1-0 to sweep the Mariners in three games. In the top of the 18th, Jeremy Peña hit a home run off Penn Murfee and reliever Luis Garcia closed out the series-clinching victory with a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning.  

Astros starter, Lance McCullers Jr. went six strong innings, seven Astros relievers combined to go 12 innings in which they gave up just five hits while walking one and striking out 15.

Game 2, 2014 NLDS – Giants 2, Nationals 1 — 18 innings

It was a heartbreaker for the Nationals as they led 1-0 going into the top of the ninth.  Jordan Zimmerman had been dominant, throwing eight shutout innings and recorded two quick outs, retiring 20 straight batters.  But then he walked Jon Panik and was pulled from the game.

Drew Storen took over and allowed a single to Buster Posey and a game-tying double to Pablo Sandoval. After going 8 innings with no runs the Giants took the lead in the top of the 18th as Brandon Belt homered off Tanner Roark.  The game took six hours, 23 minutes and the Giants would eliminate the Nationals in four games and go on to win the World Series.

 Game 4, 2005 NLDS: Astros 7, Braves 6 — 18 innings

After an Adam LaRoche grand slam, the Braves led 5-0 and 6-1 going into the bottom of the eighth.  But the Astros got four back in the eighth when Lance Berkman crushed a grand slam of his own.  Down to their last out in the bottom of the ninth, Brad Ausmus’ home run tied the game and sent it to extras.  Then, down to their last out in the ninth, they tied the game off Kyle Farnsworth.  It remained 6-6 until the bottom of the 18th when unlikely hero Chris Burke ended the game, and the series, with one big swing.  

 Game 6, 1986 NLCS: Mets 7, Astros 6 — 16 innings

This game stood as the record for the longest in the postseason for close to two decades.  The Mets beat Houston at the Astrodome to move on to the World Series against the Red Sox, setting the stage for one of the most memorable Fall Classics of all time.  New York trailed 3-0 going into the ninth but the Mets rallied for three runs to tie the game.  Extra innings including the Mets taking the lead in the 14th only have the Astros tie it in the bottom half.  But in the top of the 16th,   Looking for the clinch, the Mets were baffled for eight innings by Bob Knepper, who took a 3-0 lead into the ninth, the Mets scored three runs to take the lead.  But Houston came back rallying for two runs in the bottom half to make it a one-run game.  The Astros had the tying run in scoring position but Kevin Bass struck out to end the game.  The Mets advanced and went on to win the World Series.

Game 2, 2022 AL Wild Card Series – Guardians 1, Rays 0 — 15 innings

A marathon duel that saw sixteen pitchers rack up 39 total strikeouts allowing just 10 hits and eight walks through the first 14 innings. But in the bottom of the 15th, Oscar Gonzalez delivered the series-clinching walk-off home run off Corey Kluber, the eighth pitcher out of the Rays’ bullpen. Gonzalez became the 13th player in MLB history to clinch a postseason series with a walk-off home run.

Game 5, 1999 NLCS: Mets 4, Braves 3 — 15 innings

In 1999, the Mets would win against the Braves, this time a 15-inning victory in the NLCS that took five hours, 46 minutes. But there was no World Series trip awaiting them this time, as Atlanta would go on to win the series in Game 6 two days later. But the winning play goes down as a historic oddity in baseball.   With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 15th, the game tied 3-3, Robin Ventura crushed what should have been a walk-off grand. But it went into the scorebooks as a single when a celebrating Ventura abandoned his home run trot after only touching first base.

Final Thoughts

The longest MLB playoff games represent something unique about baseball — the absence of a clock. There’s no overtime limit, no time to run out; only persistence, strategy, and the will to outlast your opponent.  They remind fans and players alike that sometimes, history isn’t made in nine innings. It’s made in the 13th, 15th, or even 18th — when exhaustion turns to adrenaline, and heroes are born under the stadium lights long after midnight.