Monday’s two National League Division Series games gave MLB fans everything they could have wanted from October baseball and then some. The Dodgers and Phillies got the night started with a top-notch starting pitching duel that ultimately saw the reigning World Series champs stave off a furious ninth-inning rally in Philly and take a 2-0 series lead thanks to some game-saving defense.
Here are the 8 best moments from this double dip of postseason action.
Just a few weeks ago, the Dodgers still didn’t know what to expect from Sasaki, who was on an extended Minor League rehab stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City. His inclusion on a potential postseason roster seemed doubtful, at best. But in a stunning turn of events, the 23-year-old has become the most reliable arm in a shaky L.A. bullpen. So with the potential tying run looming on third base with two outs, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made his third pitching change of the ninth inning, summoning his rookie phenom.
Sasaki delivered. With a 99.3 mph fastball, he induced a weak grounder off the bat of Trea Turner, which second baseman Tommy Edman gobbled up. But the Dodgers were not out of the woods just yet. Edman spiked his throw, necessitating a game-saving scoop from Freeman at first. The Dodgers could exhale. And Sasaki’s resurgence led him to the record books: He became the first MLB pitcher to have his first two career saves both come in the postseason, since saves became official in 1969.
With the Phillies down to their final three outs, trailing by three runs, things looked dire. But Alec Bohm led off with a single, which was followed by a J.T. Realmuto double to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Nick Castellanos then flicked a two-run double to left to cut the deficit to one. That’s when the Dodgers switched pitchers — replacing Blake Treinen with Alex Vesia — and a game-changing conversation took place on the mound.
Wary of a possible bunt, L.A. discussed the optics of a wheel play. Roberts instructed third baseman Max Muncy to throw the ball to third base — where shortstop Mookie Betts would be covering — if the bunt came Muncy’s way. Sure enough, with nobody out and the tying run on second, Bryson Stott dropped a bunt to the third base side. Crashing hard, Muncy picked it up and threw to third, where Betts not only covered but beat Castellanos to the bag for the out.
Though Harrison Bader followed with a single, the Phils were ultimately unable to score, falling into a 2-0 series hole. The bunt would immediately become a much-discussed play, particularly since there was nobody out. According to FanGraphs, the average run expectancy in that scenario (runner on second, no outs) from 2021-24 was 1.14. For a runner at third and one out? It was 0.98.
Two days after leaving Game 1 with right hamstring tightness, Chourio found himself back atop Milwaukee’s lineup for Game 2. He erased any lingering doubt over his health – and an inconclusive MRI – with one king-sized swing in the fourth inning.
On an 0-2 count, Chourio sent a 101.4 mph four-seam fastball from Daniel Palencia deep to center field. Not even Pete Crow-Armstrong could get to this one, as it ricocheted off the batter’s eye, good for a projected distance of 419 feet. It’s the fastest pitch hit for a home run in the postseason in the pitch-tracking era, since 2008. And it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Brewers, who scored seven unanswered runs after falling into an early 3-0 hole.
4. Seiya, Vaughn trade 3-run HRs in the 1st
But Vaughn responded with a three-run dinger of his own, his first home run since Aug. 15. After nine homers in his first 29 games with Milwaukee after being acquired by the Brewers, he had gone 146 plate appearances between the regular season and postseason without a homer. It was also the Brewers’ first postseason homer with multiple runners on base (three-run homer or grand slam).
Vaughn’s homer made Monday’s contest the first game in postseason history where each team hit a three-run home run or grand slam in the first inning.
5. The Miz throws and shows fire out of the bullpen
The Miz fired three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts. Thirty-one of his 57 pitches cracked 100 mph, which is the most triple-digit pitches from any hurler in a postseason game in the pitch-tracking era. Misiorowski hit 104 twice, topping out at 104.3 mph, just a couple of ticks shy of the fastest postseason pitch of 104.5 mph, thrown last week by the Padres’ Mason Miller.
Misiorowski’s first inning ended with a little comebacker to the mound from catcher Carson Kelly that the rookie gloved and handled himself, running over to first base to record the one unassisted. As The Miz stepped on the bag, he pumped his arms and let out a series of yells, showing the intensity that postseason baseball is all about.
Even after unleashing all of that adrenaline, Misiorowski was able to compose himself, go back out into the spotlight and roll through two more innings. He ended up as the winning pitcher in his playoff debut.
6. Castellanos’ wild double in the 9th
What do you do when you’re in a 1-2 count in a crucial moment of a playoff game and Treinen snaps off a sweeper that looks too close to take? Just reach out and touch it. OK, maybe that isn’t the greatest strategy, but it worked for Castellanos, who basically served a bloop hit into left field with a one-handed swing.
Not only that, Castellanos — not exactly fleet of foot (27.7 feet/second Sprint Speed) — also legged out a hustle double despite the ball beating him to the bag. The play even survived a Dodgers challenge, though in the end, it was all for naught since Castellanos was thrown out at third on Bohm’s sacrifice bunt attempt.
There have been several old-fashioned pitchers’ duels already this postseason. Snell and Luzardo made sure to join the party, trading zeroes for much of Game 2. After a dominant performance in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series last Tuesday, Snell looked equally sharp against the Phillies. He allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings, recording nine strikeouts. The left-hander now has four career postseason outings with 9+ strikeouts and no more than two hits allowed. That’s the most by any pitcher in postseason history.
Luzardo was every bit as good. Making his second career postseason start, he kept the L.A. bats silent for six innings, before faltering in the seventh. At one point, he retired 17 consecutive batters, the second-longest streak by a Phillies pitcher in postseason history. The longest? That would belong to Roy Halladay, who retired 21 consecutive hitters in Game 1 of the 2011 NLDS.
8. Dodgers strike for four runs in seventh
How did the Dodgers turn a classic pitchers’ duel into a 4-0 lead in minutes flat? With timely hitting, good baserunning and a star playing through injury to make a major impact.
Luzardo finally faltered in the seventh, allowing a leadoff single to Teoscar Hernández and a double to Freeman to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. The lefty starter was lifted for Orion Kerkering, who struck out Edman but couldn’t fully escape the jam. Teoscar Hernández raced home on an infield grounder from Kiké Hernández, just beating the throw from the shortstop Turner to break the scoreless tie.
With two away, Will Smith — who came off the bench again in Game 2 while recovering from a hairline fracture in his right hand — lined a two-run single to left field. Shohei Ohtani plated the Dodgers’ final run of the inning with a 111.6 mph grounder past second baseman Edmundo Sosa and into right field. As it turned out, the Dodgers would need every single tally to hold on to win.
