What happens if a game ends in a tie in the World Series? MLB extra innings rules
The 2025 World Series gets underway today in Toronto and though it’s not common, the possibility of a tied game does exist. So, what happens when one does?


What’s better than nine innings of baseball? Extra innings of baseball. Indeed, with a set of rules to ensure both excitement and the integrity of the game, MLB has an interesting way of managing games that are tied after nine innings of play.
How are tied games handled in the World Series?
Now, as you probably know, an MLB game whether during the regular season or the playoffs, ends when the team that is trailing has seen 27 outs (nine innings). It’s important to note that if the home team is leading after the visiting team has made three outs in the top of the ninth inning, then the home team wins and does not need to come to bat. Also worth noting is that MLB games only become ‘official’ after they reach the bottom half of the fifth inning. Should the game be canceled for whatever reason before that point, it will resume the next day, or at a time that is agreed upon by the teams and the league.
Game One of the World Series finishes in extra innings for the third season in a row! pic.twitter.com/ktpyT1iVMS
— jack (@Jolly_Olive) October 26, 2024
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Assuming the game goes the distance and both teams have seen 27 outs, the game continues until the home team takes the lead at any point, or the visiting team takes the lead and successfully forces three outs from the home team without losing the lead or allowing a tied game once more.
The main rule difference in the MLB postseason is that there is no automatic runner starting on second base in extra innings as is the case in the regular season.


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