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."

In the Dodgers' 6-5, 18-inning, marathon of a win that followed, Game 3 of the World Series turned out to be so much more.

It was a test of mental mettle. A challenge of sudden-death composure. A battle of physical attrition and emotional fortitude. An instant classic with too many twists and turns to count.

There were sudden shifts and crazy bounces, like when a down-the-line single from Bo Bichette in the top of the seventh ricocheted off a sound technician along the elbow of the wall in foul territory, allowing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to score all the way from first with the help of an errant throw from Teoscar Hernández.

There were big mistakes and even bigger swings, like when Shohei Ohtani got the Dodgers tied again in the bottom of the seventh by clobbering a first-pitch, down-the-middle fastball from Blue Jays reliever Seranthony Domínguez for a solo home run -- matching a World Series single-game record with his fourth extra-base hit of the night.

There were game-saving defensive plays, none bigger than when a Dodgers defense that had struggled earlier in the night cut down a runner at home plate in the top of the 10th, after two perfectly executed throws from Hernández and Tommy Edman.

There were heroic outings, from the early scoreless appearances the Dodgers got from youngsters Justin Wrobleski, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and Edgardo Henriquez, to the bases-loaded jam future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw escaped in the 12th, to the gutsy four innings of that Will Klein provided most of all.

And, finally, nearly seven hours later, it all culminated with a Freddie Freeman walk-off home run, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in this World Series and a win that will be remembered forever at Chavez Ravine.

Freddie Freeman is Dodgers' World Series walk-off hero again in 18-inning marathon win