MILWAUKEE — Blake Snell had to watch from afar as his team was swept by the Brewers in six games during the regular season. But while he was sidelined with left shoulder inflammation, he absorbed as much information on opposing hitters as he could.
He finally got to put that information to use in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series at American Family Field on Monday night.
Snell carved up the Brewers across a postseason career-high eight innings, facing the minimum before the bullpen closed things out in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win. Snell struck out 10 without walking a batter. He allowed just one baserunner when Caleb Durbin singled in the third, but he was picked off shortly afterward.
In postseason history, teams winning Game 1 in any best-of-seven series have gone on to take that series 126 of 194 times (64.9%). In series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams winning Game 1 on the road have gone on to take that series 40 of 71 times (56.3%).
It was pure dominance from Snell, who became the first Dodger to toss eight scoreless innings in a postseason game since Clayton Kershaw in Game 2 of the 2020 NL Wild Card Series … against the Brewers.
Not only that, but Snell is the first Major Leaguer to face the minimum through eight innings of a postseason game since Don Larsen in his 1956 perfect game. He also became the first pitcher in postseason history with 10 or more strikeouts, one or no hits and no walks in an outing of at least eight innings.
Snell induced 22 swing-and-misses from Brewers hitters, including an astounding 14 on his changeup. He pounded the zone, landing 69 of his 103 pitches for strikes.
Dodgers hitters didn’t give Snell a lot of breathing room, with Freddie Freeman’s solo homer in the sixth and Mookie Betts’ bases-loaded walk in the ninth accounting for all of his run support. But it was more than enough for him to work with.
