In what was nearly a comeback by the Philadelphia Phillies in the bottom of the ninth, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ infield defense held firm, defeating the Phillies 4-3 on the road Monday to take a 2-0 lead in the National League Division Series.
A high-scoring seventh inning that produced four runs, along with Blake Snell holding the Phillies scoreless through six innings, set the tone for the Dodgers’ victory.
The ace allowed just one hit, struck out nine and threw 99 pitches for a 1.38 ERA as the series shifts to Los Angeles.
Snell’s dominant outing drew praise from fans, while the Dodgers’ explosive offense also sparked plenty of buzz on social media.
Despite a strong start from Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo — who had retired 17 straight batters by the middle of the sixth inning — he was pulled in the seventh after putting Dodgers runners on second and third.
A mix of Dodgers players got it going in the seventh inning, with Tio Hernández singling to center, Freddie Freeman doubling to right and Enrique Hernández driving in Tio Hernández with a ground ball. A walk and a Will Smith single brought in both Enrique Hernández and Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani capped the inning with an RBI to score Max Muncy as the Dodgers took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
Smith led the Dodgers with two RBI, going 1-of-2 as a pinch hitter, Enrique Hernández added a RBI and Ohtani brought in a RBI.
The Phillies answered in the eighth with one run as Trea Turner hit a RBI to score Max Kepler, who reached third on a triple, trailing 4-1.
Dodgers closer Blake Treinen struggled to close it out in the ninth, allowing two runners in scoring position with no outs before Nick Castellanos drove in both with a double.
Alex Vesia entered in relief and gave up another hit on nine pitches before Roki Sasaki took the mound, needing one more out for Los Angeles with runners on first and third. A grounder to Tommy Edman and a near error saved by Gold Glover Freddie Freeman sealed the win.
The winner between the No. 2-seeded Phillies and No. 3-seeded Dodgers in the best-of-five series will advance to face the winner of the No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers and No. 4 Chicago Cubs, in the NL League Championship with Game 1 scheduled for Oct. 13.
First, Los Angeles will host the Phillies on Wednesday for Game 3.
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