After two very winnable games that became two very brutal losses to start the series against the Phillies, the same formula repeated itself in the finale. The Dodgers jumped out to an early lead, Blake Snell was dominant, and it looked like they would cruise to victory … and this time they actually did?! They tacked on a pair of insurance runs late, and the pen pitched two scoreless as they managed to salvage a 5-0 win from a series they arguably should’ve swept.
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Let’s start with Blake Snell because he deserves the highlight. In all honesty, he probably knew he not only needed to pitch well but also that he needed to pitch deep, and Snell did exactly that.
He was dominant throughout, striking out a pair in both a clean 1st and 2nd, then striking out the side to help get around a pair of two-out singles in the 3rd. He got another strikeout in a 1-2-3 frame in the 4th, then struck out two more in a clean 5th, and got yet another K in a clean 6th.
Ever since the singles in the 3rd — the only baserunners of the game to this point — he retired 12 in a row into the 7th. However, he was over 100 pitches at that point, and seemingly started to lose his command a bit. He issued back-to-back two-out walks to bring the tying run to the plate, and he was at 107 pitches. Dave Roberts looked like he was coming to get him, but Snell talked him into one last batter.
The fear in his eyes that the pen was coming, lmao. pic.twitter.com/KbIAZUJbON
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 18, 2025
He fell behind him 2-0, but battled back and emphatically got a strikeout on a fastball up to end his outing.
Blake Snell completes 7 scoreless innings on 111 pitches after Dave Roberts leaves him in following back-to-back walks to bring the tying run to the plate. pic.twitter.com/hocBP6NHaJ
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 18, 2025
Nails. Absolutely what they need in October: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 K, 112 Pitches.
Blake Snell dominates with 12 strikeouts over 7 shutout frames. He pushed it to the limit for 112 pitches to minimize the pen use when the Dodgers needed it most. A moment that a starter was allowed to revel in for once. pic.twitter.com/KnSYZ6eMGj
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 18, 2025
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Now, about that lead he was protecting.
On the mound for the Phillies was Jesus Luzardo, another lefty with great stuff on their staff, and he cruised through an easy 1st. In the 2nd, he was greeted by Freddie Freeman‘s 21st homer to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.
Freddie strikes first! pic.twitter.com/HuPUNLPbtX
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 18, 2025
With one down later in the inning, Miguel Rojas singled up the middle and then a hit-and-run was executed to perfection as Rojas stole and Andy Pages pushed the ball to the vacant spot for a single to corner things up. After Enrique Hernandez couldn’t get the job done and struck out, it was none other than Ben Rortvedt coming through with a single to double the lead to 2-0.
THE BEN RORTVEDT ERA pic.twitter.com/y40XzpBhiR
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 18, 2025
Shohei Ohtani then hit a ball hard but lined out just short of the track in left-center to end that threat.
After another quiet frame in the 3rd, they rallied with two outs in the 4th. An Andy Pages walk was followed by a stolen base, and he then got to third on an errant pick-off attempt by Luzardo. Enrique then got buried 1-2 in the count, but worked it back to 3-2 before flipping a single into center to make it 3-0.
¡Kiké moviendo los senderos! pic.twitter.com/9LrO5MI6R0
— Los Dodgers (@LosDodgers) September 18, 2025
Speaking of settling in, Luzardo also did that, as following that single he retired 10 in a row. It looked like six would be his end, but he was left in to try and get Shohei Ohtani a fourth time. That … did not work out, as Shohei hit his 51st homer to right-center for a key insurance run to make it 4-0.
Back-to-back games with a homer from Shohei! pic.twitter.com/r5k8iRi9Ql
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 18, 2025
The Dodgers then rallied behind that for more, as Teoscar Hernandez drew a one-out walk, a single from Freddie Freeman cornered things up, and Tommy Edman brought a run home on a sac fly to make it 5-0.
Edman completes his very unlucky 0-for-3 night with a sac fly for more insurance. Hitting the ball well again. pic.twitter.com/1SsUVzYSze
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 18, 2025
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Of course, the tension was on the performance of the pen, and it was Alex Vesia up first. He got three huge outs for a clean inning to set the Dodgers up well for the win.
In the 9th it was Tanner Scott, who ironically was the only reliever to not give up a run against the Phillies this series. While he did surrender a one-out walk on four pitches, I’ll take that over leaving everything in the middle of the plate, and he finished the game without more drama.
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The Dodgers will now welcome the rival Giants for another series, this one a four-game affair that will be important for both of them. It’ll start at 4:10 PM HT/7:10 PM PT/10:10 PM ET, and it’ll be on MLB Network and SNLA. The matchup will be one of the aces between Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Logan Webb.
