By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Blake Snell had yielded to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen after a masterful start and was just a bystander when the Philadelphia Phillies — without any help from their All-Star trio at the top of the batting order — finally mustered a rally in the ninth inning.
A leadoff single. A two-run double. A headfirst slide — safe!
Phillies bats and a previously silenced crowd both finally rose to the occasion and their feet.
Through all the drama, Snell’s confidence in the playoff-tested Dodgers never wavered.
“We know we’re going to win,” the pitcher said.
Snell allowed one hit in six shutout innings, striking out nine, and the Dodgers made a couple of clutch defensive plays to turn back Philadelphia’s late rally Monday night for a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of their NL Division Series.
Freddie Freeman made a game-saving pick at first base and Shohei Ohtani delivered an RBI single that helped the Dodgers take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five playoff. The defending World Series champs can reach their 17th National League Championship Series with a Game 3 win Wednesday in Los Angeles.
“That was a heck of a ballgame. Lots to unpack in that one,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after his team improved to 4-0 this postseason. “Great ballgame, great plays. Huge win.”
Will Smith had a two-run single in a four-run seventh, and the Dodgers took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
That’s when the Phillies finally mounted a major threat.
Nick Castellanos slid headfirst into second base, narrowly eluding a tag, for a two-run double off Blake Treinen that at last sent the Philadelphia crowd of more than 45,000 into a frenzy and made it a 4-3 game.
Alex Vesia came in to face Bryson Stott, who tried to advance Castellanos with a bunt. But third baseman Max Muncy wheeled and threw to shortstop Mookie Betts sprinting over to cover the bag in time to tag out Castellanos.
“Those guys executed it to perfection. It was a lot tougher — they made it look a lot easier than it was,” Roberts said. “And for me, that was our only chance, really, to win that game in that moment.”
Pinch-hitter Harrison Bader singled and Max Kepler grounded into a fielder’s choice that left runners at the corners with two outs.
Roki Sasaki entered and retired NL batting champion Trea Turner on a groundout to second for the rookie’s second career save — both in this series. Freeman went to his knees to pick Tommy Edman’s poor throw on his backhand, keeping his right toe on the bag before rolling over onto his back with the ball in his mitt.
“Obviously, Tommy threw one into the dirt. Thankfully I was able to catch it and stay on the base,” Freeman said. “That was a stressful inning.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he will likely hold a team meeting once the team gets to Los Angeles.
“I love the fight in the eighth and ninth inning,” he said. “They fought like hell, and hopefully that carries over into Wednesday. But this is a resilient group. Our backs are against the wall. We’ve just got to come out fighting.”