PHILADELPHIA — The way both Blake Snell and Jesús Luzardo were dealing, it took the smallest of breaks to make a difference in Game 2 of the NL Division Series on Monday night.
The break in question for the Dodgers: a 35.4 mph dribbler just past the mound from Kiké Hernández, which scored Teoscar Hernández to snap a scoreless tie in the seventh inning and opened the proverbial floodgates for Los Angeles.
Behind another dominant start from Snell, the Dodgers beat the Phillies, 4-3, on Monday night, taking the first two games at Citizens Bank Park before the series shifts to Dodger Stadium for Game 3.
In postseason history, all teams taking a 2-0 lead in any best-of-five series have gone on to win that series 80 of 90 times (88.9%). In Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams to win both Games 1 and 2 on the road have advanced 16 of 18 times (88.9%), including 12 sweeps.
“It’s absolutely huge,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Guys are really stepping up. I thought Blake threw a heck of a ball game, Blake Snell.”
L.A. survived a high-stress ninth inning in which Philadelphia scored twice to make it a one-run game with nobody out, necessitating three relievers — Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and Roki Sasaki — to get the final three outs. The defense turned a tone-shifting wheel play that was the talk of the clubhouse afterward, and Freddie Freeman made a miraculous scoop to secure the final out.
“I was really trying to do anything I could to catch it,” said Freeman. “Those are one of the hardest ones, those in-between ones. The short one or the long one, that one’s right in-between. I went through it, and thankfully, it stayed in my glove.”
As for Snell, it marked only the second time in franchise postseason history that a Dodger recorded a scoreless start of at least six innings with one or no hits allowed. Walker Buehler had the other in Game 1 of the 2019 NLDS against the Nationals.
“He was just able to bear down and not let the moment get too big on him, not let the pressure get too big,” Max Muncy said. “And he just stayed cool, calm and collected out there, and just executed his pitches.”
In that start, Snell issued a pair of walks in his seventh and final inning, which drew manager Dave Roberts out to the mound. But Snell made his case to stay in the game and finished off his stellar performance, thrilling a packed Dodger Stadium.
Similarly, Snell encountered some trouble in the sixth inning on Monday, walking two batters with one out and allowing a runner to reach second base for the first time all night. This time, no mound visit from Roberts was necessary: Snell struck out Bryce Harper, and Alec Bohm grounded into a forceout, with Miguel Rojas sliding to beat the runner to the bag for the third out.
“I needed weak contact,” Snell said. “I knew I was going to have to attack him somewhere where he could hit, but I felt confident with the slider. Like today, I felt really confident with that pitch. Just kind of rode it out against him in that at-bat and ended up winning.”
Snell’s four playoff outings with nine or more strikeouts and no more than two hits allowed are the most by any pitcher in postseason history. He left with the lead when the Dodgers put up a four-spot in the top of the seventh, sparked by Hernández’s RBI fielder’s choice. Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani tacked on insurance with run-scoring singles.
“He’s been incredible since he’s come off [his] injury,” Freeman said of Snell. “Everything we could have asked for. Six strong innings tonight. He had everything working. Our starting pitching has been incredible for about a month now. I’m glad everyone gets to see it on a national stage.”
