Many of baseball¡¯s best moments take place in extra innings, and that was certainly the case during the 2024 MLB season.
With extra innings once again presented FREE on MLB.TV (subject to blackout) thanks to GEICO in 2025, let¡¯s take a look back at some of the most memorable extra-inning games and moments of 2024 -- big homers, clutch saves, stellar defense and more.
Walk-off home runs
While the 2024 regular season featured 12 walk-off home runs in extra innings, the two that came in the postseason won¡¯t soon be forgotten.
Just a few days after David Fry's 10th-inning, walk-off homer in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series for the Guardians, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman delivered an incredible moment for his team in Game 1 of the World Series.
With Los Angeles down, 3-2, two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th against the Yankees at Dodger Stadium, Freeman crushed the first walk-off grand slam in the long history of the Fall Classic. His game-ending blast on a bad ankle evoked the image of Kirk Gibson hobbling around the bases after a walk-off solo shot in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series at the very same venue.
Spectacular saves
¡°Fired up¡± would be a good way to characterize Athletics closer Mason Miller last April 26 in Baltimore.
Not only was Miller throwing flames as usual from the pitcher¡¯s mound, but he demonstrated quite the emphatic fist-pump after recording the final out of a 3-2 win over the Orioles.
With the tying run on third and star shortstop Gunnar Henderson at the plate for the O¡¯s, Miller faced a tough task even after the A¡¯s pulled ahead in the top of the 10th on an RBI double from Brent Rooker.
But he pulled through with flying colors, blowing a 102 mph fastball right by Henderson on an 0-2 count to get the job done -- perhaps the most dramatic save in extra innings during the 2024 season.
Defensive gems
The 2024 season saw its share of stellar defensive plays in extra innings.
Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows¡¯ diving snag to rob Bobby Witt Jr. of a base hit in the top of the 10th comes to mind. So does Grae Kessinger¡¯s impressive stop for the Astros in San Diego to leave the bases loaded and end the game.
But perhaps the best defensive play in extras of 2024 came in Houston, when Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan charged in on a 10th-inning liner to shallow left field that looked like it was bound to fall to the grass for a game-tying hit. Kwan snagged the baseball on a dive, then fired it to second base to double off baserunner Victor Caratini for the final out, preserving a thrilling 3-2 win for Cleveland.
Daring baserunning
The Yankees¡¯ Jazz Chisholm Jr. made some extra-inning magic on the basepaths last October.
With the Yanks and Dodgers tied 2-2 entering extras in World Series Game 1, it was up to Chisholm to help put his team on top. When the speedster slapped a single to right field with one away, it was time to get moving.
Chisholm promptly stole second base, pulling in well ahead of the tag. After an intentional walk to Anthony Rizzo, Chisholm stole third, too -- without even drawing a throw. He raced home with the go-ahead run on a grounder off the bat of teammate Anthony Volpe, putting the Yankees in the lead.
Of course, Freeman¡¯s grand slam made Chisholm¡¯s heroics all for naught, but Chisholm still accomplished something special: He was the only player in 2024 (regular season or postseason) to steal multiple bases in the same extra inning.
Wacky, wild times
The Tigers and the A¡¯s faced off last Sept. 6 in a game that was positively bizarre -- as extra-inning games so often are.
After a wild pitch in the seventh handed Detroit the tying run, neither team could score more through the bottom of the ninth. The ballgame went to extras at 2-2, and that¡¯s when things truly went off the rails.
The Tigers plated a run in the 10th. So did the A¡¯s. The Tigers scored two more in the 11th. So did the A¡¯s, on a two-run Seth Brown homer. When Riley Greene singled home another run in the top of the 12th for Detroit, Rooker answered with a sac fly for the home team.
Finally, in the bottom of the THIRTEENTH, Brown sent everyone home with a scorching base hit down the right-field line to score JJ Bleday and win it for the A¡¯s. It put an exciting end to a ridiculous, back-and-forth game that will go down as one of the craziest contests of the year.
Postseason heroics
There¡¯s not much that¡¯s more exciting than a dramatic postseason moment in extra innings, and 2024 certainly delivered.
It wasn¡¯t just Freeman¡¯s slam, either. In Game 5 of the ALCS at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Juan Soto delivered an unforgettable home run to send the Yankees to the World Series.
The stakes couldn¡¯t have been much higher with two strikes, two outs and runners on first and second in a 2-2 game in the top of the 10th. But the superstar outfielder was up to the challenge, crushing a fastball from Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis over the center-field fence for a go-ahead, three-run homer.
One half-inning later, the Yankees finished off a 5-2 win to book their trip to the World Series against the Dodgers -- in large part thanks to Soto¡¯s extra-inning heroics.