PHILADELPHIA — Blake Snell had yielded to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen after a masterful start and was just a bystander when the 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 rising 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 barely 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.
“Thankfully, I was able to catch it and stay on the base,” Freeman said. “I told (my wife) Lauren after the game, `My gray right here might be up to my sideburn now.’”
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 get Castellanos.
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.
Yanks face long odds
NEW YORK — The Bellinger babies are among the few Yankees fans not stressed about New York’s 0-2 deficit to Toronto in their AL Division Series.
Caiden is 3 years old and sister Cy is 2.
“They were at the game yesterday, and they said that it was very loud,” dad Cody recalled Monday. “That’s about all they were aware of.”
New York was blown out twice in Toronto, 10-1 and 13-7, as the Blue Jays scored the most runs of any team in its first two postseason games.
Teams taking a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have won 80 of 90 times, including 54 sweeps. New York has accomplished the comeback twice, in 2001 led by Derek Jeter and his backhand flip to the plate in Game 3 against Oakland, and in 2017 vs. Cleveland. Among teams ahead 2-0 in the current 2-2-1 format, 31 of 34 have advanced.
“We approach it like we have really all season, but even more specifically, the last six, eight weeks where we feel like we’ve been playing with a lot on the line every single day,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ll go into our hitters’ meeting, and it’s about win today, period, and not getting ahead of that and even keeping it smaller than that. It’s about going up and trying to win every pitch. Keep it small. Keep it simple.”
Left-hander Carlos Rodón (18-9) starts tonight at home for the Yankees in Game 3, and 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber goes for the Blue Jays.
Tigers get to host
DETROIT — When the Detroit Tigers walked off the field following their last home game two-plus weeks ago, no one knew if they would play another game at Comerica Park this year.
“We had to earn it,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Monday. “It took a lot to get back home.”
The Tigers dropped a seventh straight home game against Atlanta on Sept. 21.
The Tigers bounced back well enough to have another game in the Motor City this afternoon against Seattle in Game 3 of their AL Division Series.
Detroit opened in Seattle with a 3-2, 11-inning win and the Mariners beat Tarik Skubal 3-2 on Sunday to even the best-of-five series.