Dodgers 4, Phillies 3 – NLDS Game 2: Blake Snell goes 6 shutout, the pen barely BARELY hangs on late to take commanding lead

Chad Moriyama 10/06/2025 Game Recaps Leave A Comment

I am alive, but barely.

How are you?

Good lord.

While the Dodgers have already taken home-field advantage from the Phillies with their Game 1 win, what they really wanted tonight was to take full control of the series in Game 2. They ended up doing exactly that, but man what a damn journey to get there, right?

Blake Snell and Jesus Luzardo engaged in a great pitchers’ duel, but the Dodgers got to Luzardo and took another lead into the game late. That was where Dave Roberts didn’t go to Roki Sasaki for the save for some reason, and it almost cost them if not for a great final sequence of execution to salvage a 4-3 victory.

At the end of the day, 2-0 in the NLDS.

======

The metrics say Jesus Luzardo has been pitching like a front-line starter despite an elevated ERA, and he started the 1st with a strikeout of Shohei Ohtani after a six-pitch battle. But Mookie Betts then singled to left, Teoscar Hernandez won a seven-pitch battle to draw a walk. Freddie Freeman then got ahead 2-0 and smoked a 104 MPH liner to right, but it was caught for an out to only advance Mookie to third. Luzardo then got Tommy Edman to ground out to end the early threat.

He seemed to settle after that, cruising through a 10-pitch 2nd, and needing just eight pitches to get through the 3rd. Luzardo then dominated a 1-2-3 4th with a pair of strikeouts, and got the 5th on just six pitches. The efficiency didn’t abate in the 6th, as Will Smith pinch-hit for Ben Rortvedt and grounded out on the first pitch, and Luzardo got the next two on just 10 more pitches.

So yeah … needless to say, zero runs.

——

For the Dodgers it was Blake Snell for the second time in four games this postseason, and he started strong with a 13-pitch inning in the 1st that included a strikeout and just a harmless two-out walk to Bryce Harper allowed. He then took just 12 pitches to cruise through a clean 2nd, adding a pair of strikeouts. The 3rd started with a seven-pitch walk to Brandon Marsh, but he then struck out back-to-back hitters before picking off Marsh on a 2-2 count with Kyle Schwarber at the plate to end the inning.

Snell continued on, needing just 12 pitches to strikeout two more in the 4th, and while he gave up his first hit of the game with two outs in the 5th, there was no damage.

The 6th was far more dangerous, and it looked like where the Dodgers might lose it. A strikeout started things, but Trea Turner drew a walk and stole second, then Schwarber also walked to put a pair on. But Snell did his things and locked in, getting a huge strikeout of Harper, and then getting Alec Bohm to groundout to Miguel Rojas, who barely beat Turner to the bag.

That was it for Snell, but it was glorious: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 9 K, 99 Pitches.

——

And so it was all zeroes through six innings, but not for long.

Understandably, given it looked like he might throw a shutout, Luzardo came out for the 7th, which was when the Dodgers started a rally out of nothing. Teoscar began the inning with a single, then Freddie doubled to put a pair in scoring position.

That was the end of Luzardo’s night, as Rob Thomson replaced him with Orion Kerkering, who got a huge strikeout of Edman to start. However, Enrique Hernandez followed by a dribbling a ball just past Kerkering, which scored Teoscar from third and everybody was safe.

That brought up Max Muncy, who hit for Rojas, and he drew a four-pitch walk to load things up. Andy Pages followed, but fouled out to first to put the Phillies on the verge. However, the injured catcher Dills stepped up big time and lofted a single to left-center to plate two, making it 3-0.

With Shohei up, it was Matt Strahm entering again, and he gave up a single blasted past the infield to score Max and make it 4-0. 112 off the bat in a dead silent road park was loud as hell.

They didn’t get more, as Mookie flew out to end the frame, but huge damage was done.

And so now with the lead, it was Emmet Sheehan in the 7th for the Dodgers, and he looked very different from his last outing where he had no command. He got a 1-2-3 frame on just nine pitches to start his outing off right.

He continued in the 8th, as Justin Dean entered as a defensive replacement for Teoscar, moving Pages to right. Sheehan induced a flyout to Dean for the first out, but then gave up a triple on an 0-2 count to Max Kepler, as Pages misplayed the ball in the corner. Trea followed with a single to get the Phillies on the board at 4-1, and setup their big guys with a golden chance.

Dave Roberts stuck with Sheehan, and he responded by getting a strikeout of Schwarber and flyout from Harper to end the inning and the threat. Massive.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers were trying to add insurance.

In the 8th, Teoscar started with a single off Tanner Banks, but he made an ill-advised attempt for second base and was thrown out there, which killed any momentum and they went quietly.

Again it was Jhoan Duran in the 9th, and a one-out Muncy double was followed by a two-out Dills walk to put a pair on for Shohei, but he struck out on 2-2 curve.

The lack of insurance would prove relevant immediately.

For whatever reason, Dave decided to go with Blake Treinen in the 9th as the closer despite Roki Sasaki existing. This backfired immediately, as Bohm singled, J.T. Realmuto doubled, and Nick Castellanos also doubled to make it 4-3.

Alex Vesia entered for a run of lefties, and the Dodgers pulled off a great wheel play on a sac bunt attempt, where Muncy got the lead runner at third with Mookie covering.

That play would basically end up winning the game.

Harrison Bader then hit for Marsh, and he singled to left to put a pair on again, though Vesia got Kepler to groundout to Freddie for the second out.

Finally, Dave went to Roki for the top of the order, and he came up big yet again, getting Trea to groundout to Edman, who choked and threw low but was bailed out by Freddie “Fucking” Freeman at first to secure the 4-3 victory.

Good god.

GOOD GOD

I apologize in advance, but I was just melting down watching that, man.

======

It’s now 2-0 in the NLDS, and they’re on the verge of a sweep and the NLCS.

The two teams will now travel to Los Angeles on their day off before restarting things with Game 3 on TBS, truTV, and HBO Max at 3:08 PM HT/6:08 PM PT/9:08 PM ET. It’ll be Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the bump looking to build off his great start last time out, and he’ll face off against Aaron Nola.

Tags

About Chad Moriyama

Avatar photo
"A highly rational Internet troll." - Los Angeles Times
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2014-2024 | Dodgers Digest | All Rights Reserved