Dodgers Take Game 1 of NLCS Behind Blake Snell‘s Historic Performance
los Angeles, CA – Blake Snell delivered a dominant pitching performance Monday as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee brewers 1-0 to open the National League Championship Series. Snell faced the minimum through eight innings,a feat not accomplished in a postseason game as Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
Snell struck out 10 and allowed only a third-inning single to Caleb Durbin, whom he promptly picked off.The victory improved Snell’s postseason record to 3-0,making him the second Dodgers pitcher to win his frist three playoff starts for the franchise,joining Don Sutton (1974). His current postseason ERA of 0.86 is the second-best for a Dodgers left-hander (minimum 20 innings),trailing only Sandy koufax’s 0.38 ERA in three starts during the 1965 World Series.
“the no-hitter, yeah,” Snell said when asked if he’d ever felt as locked in as he did monday, referencing his no-hitter for the San Francisco Giants on August 2, 2024.
The Dodgers’ offense managed only one run, but the team’s starting pitching has been a driving force throughout their postseason run.Dodgers starters are now 6-1 with a 1.65 ERA in the playoffs, having recorded six quality starts in their seven games.
“Our starting pitching for the last seven, eight weeks, has been — I don’t know if you can write enough words in your stories about our starting pitching,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. “It really has been amazing. They seem to feed off each other.”
Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, joined the Dodgers hoping to contend for a championship after previously falling to them in the 2020 World Series as a member of the Tampa Bay rays.
“Even playing against them, watching, it was just always in the back of my mind, like, I wanted to be a Dodger and play on that team,” Snell said.”To be here now, it’s a dream come true. I couldn’t wish for anything more.”
