The Los Angeles Dodgers took a 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series behind a dominant start from Blake Snell at Citizens Bank Park.
The left-hander held the Phillies without a hit until Edmundo Sosa’s broken-bat single into center field with two outs in the fifth inning.
Snell then worked around two walks in the next frame to get through six scoreless innings. He gave up just the one hit and collected nine strikeouts against four walks in the start.
According to OptaSTATS, Snell became the first MLB pitcher to record at least nine strikeouts with two or fewer hits allowed in four different postseason starts.
Blake Snell now has 4 career postseason outings with 9+ strikeouts and no more than 2 hits allowed.
That's the most by any pitcher in MLB postseason history. pic.twitter.com/kb0SpR3GnY
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 7, 2025
Snell had the same stat line in three starts during the 2020 MLB postseason with the Tampa Bay Rays, two of which came against the Dodgers in the World Series.
In his latest playoff gem, Snell kept the Phillies off balance by leaning on his fastball and mixing in a steady dose of secondary pitches.
“I feel like early on it was big,” Snell said of his heater. “I was just trying to figure out what their game plan was and how I was going to attack.
“I just faced them not too long ago. I knew I was going to have to adjust and do some things differently and keep some things the same as well, reading the approach, trying to figure them out and attack.”
Blake Snell discusses key Bryce Harper at-bat
Snell’s only bit of trouble against the Phillies occurred in the sixth inning when he issued back-to-back walks to Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber.
Snell then got Bryce Harper to chase a slider out of the strike zone before retiring Alec Bohm after Miguel Rojas beat Turner to third base just in time to apply the tag on a diving attempt.
“I needed weak contact,” Snell said of his approach when facing Harper. “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.”
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