Will Klein kept the Dodgers alive in Game 3 of the World Series by throwing the final four innings of an 18-inning game, striking out five batters, walking two, allowing one hit and giving up no runs before Los Angeles won on a walk-off in the bottom of the 18th.
The outing turned Klein, who was added to the active roster for the World Series after not being used in the first three rounds of the postseason, into the kind of arm a team can lean on when everything else has already been spent. He continued to be the Dodgers' secret weapon in 2026.
That was a sharp turn from where he stood just a year earlier. Klein posted a 7.17 ERA and a 1.969 WHIP in 22 relief appearances for Triple-A Tacoma last season, numbers that did not suggest he was about to decide a World Series game. He was later traded to the Dodgers in exchange for Joe Jacques, and after the deal he produced a 2.35 ERA in 14 relief appearances for Los Angeles.
The contrast matters because it shows how quickly a reliever's value can change once the fit changes. Klein never actually pitched for the Mariners in the majors, even though he came through their system, leaving his latest October work as a reminder that a pitcher can spend years looking like a depth piece before becoming a postseason option.
Seattle's bullpen still enters the discussion as one of the better units in the majors, ranking second with a 3.08 ERA. But the group also ranked 18th in WHIP and tied for 25th in batting average, and it did not have Matt Brash, Gabe Speier or Carlos Vargas available. Against that backdrop, Klein's rise is an awkward note for the Mariners and a useful one for the Dodgers: the pitcher they once developed but never used in the majors is now helping decide the biggest games of the year.
