Dodgers survive ninth-inning scare to defeat Phillies and take commanding lead in NLDS

PHILADELPHIA — This is over.

Or, from the perspective of the Dodgers, this is just starting.

Because the Dodgers are returning to the World Series.

Technically, they still have to close out their National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. They still have to win the NL Championship Series.

But they will.

⚾ Dodgers 4, Phillies 3 — FINAL

Behind a stellar pitching performance from Blake Snell and a four-run seventh inning, the Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five National League Division Series.

Game 3 will be played at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday at 6:08 p.m. If the Dodgers win, they’ll advance to the National League Championship Series.

Snell yielded just one hit, struck out nine and walked four over six innings.

Kiké Hernández drove in the game’s first run in the seventh on a fielder’s choice grounder that allowed a hard-charging Teoscar Hernández to just barely score from third. Will Smith then hit a two-run single and Shohei Ohtani singled in the fourth run.

Ninth-inning recap

Top of the ninth: Phillies reliever Jhoan Duran struck out Kiké Hernández before Max Muncy ripped a double into left field. Andy Pages flied out to shallow left field, keeping Muncy on second base.

Will Smith drew a walk before Shohei Ohtani struck out.

Bottom of the ninth: Blake Treinen took over on the mound for the Dodgers, and he gave up a leadoff single to Alec Bohm. J.T. Realmuto then doubled into the left-field corner, putting runners on third and second.

Nick Castellanos followed with a two-run double to left field to make it 4-3 Dodgers with no outs.

Alex Vesia replaced Treinen. Max Muncy fielded a bunt from Bryson Stott and made a quick throw to Mookie Betts covering third to tag out a sliding Castellanos. Stott reached first on the fielder’s choice.

Pinch-hitter Harrison Bader then singled on a liner to left, putting runners on first and second with one out. Weston Wilson took over for Bader as a pinch-runner.

Max Kepler grounded into a forceout at second when Freddie Freeman fielded the ball and threw to Betts to get Wilson.

×

With runners on the corners and NL batting champion Trea Turner coming to the plate, Roki Sasaki replaced Vesia on the mound.

Turner grounded out to second after Freddie Freeman made a scooping catch from his knees on a short and wide throw from Tommy Edman to save the game for the Dodgers.

⚾ Dodgers 4, Phillies 1 — Through eight innings

Top of the eighth: Teoscar Hernández singled off Tanner Banks to left-center field but was thrown out at second while trying to go for a double (the on-field call was upheld on review).

Freddie Freeman grounded out to second and Tommy Edman flied out to center.

Bottom of the eighth: Emmet Sheehan got Brandon Marsh to fly out to center.

Matt Kepler followed with a triple into the right-field corner on a ball that got past Andy Pages.

Trea Turner followed with a single to center, scoring Kepler to make it 4-1 Dodgers. Sheehan stayed on the mound after a visit from pitching coach Mark Prior.

Sheehan struck out Kyle Schwarber for the second out before Bryce Harper flied out to center to end the inning.

⚾ Dodgers 4, Phillies 0 — Through seven innings

Top of the seventh: Teoscar Hernández singled to right field before Freddie Freeman followed with a double to right. The hits ended Jesús Luzardo’s night for the Phillies, with right-handed reliever Orion Kerkering taking over.

Luzardo gave up three hits, struck out five and walked one over six innings, retiring 17 consecutive batters at one point.

Kerkering struck out Tommy Edman.

Kiké Hernández then hit an infield dribbler that shortstop Trea Turner fielded and threw home, but Teoscar Hernández beat the tag from catcher J.T. Realmuto to score the Dodgers’ first run. Kiké Hernández reached first on the fielder’s choice RBI.

Kerkering then walked Max Muncy on four pitches to load the bases. Andy Pages popped up into foul territory for the second out.

Will Smith followed with a two-run single to left field, scoring Freeman and Kiké Hernández.

Matt Strahm replaced Kerkering on the mound, but he gave up a run-scoring single to Shohei Ohtani to make it 4-0 Dodgers.

Mookie Betts flied out to center to end the inning.

Bottom of the seventh: Emmet Sheehan took over on the mound for the Dodgers in relief of Blake Snell. He retired the Phillies in order, with J.T. Realmuto grounding out, Nick Castellanos flying out and Bryson Stott grounding out.

⚾ Dodgers 0, Phillies 0 — Through sixth innings

Top of the sixth: Will Smith, pinch-hitting for Ben Rortvedt, grounded out to third on a first-pitch breaking ball from Jesús Luzardo. Shohei Ohtani grounded out to first base and Mookie Betts popped out into foul territory behind first base.

Bottom of the sixth: Blake Snell struck out Otto Kemp. Trea Turner drew a walk before the shortstop stole second base after Betts couldn’t hang on to the ball while applying the tag after a spot on throw from Smith.

Snell then walked Kyle Schwarber on five pitches, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Mark Prior.

Snell responded by striking out Bryce Harper on a perfectly placed slider.

Miguel Rojas then fielded an Alec Bohm grounder and barely beat the speedy Turner to third by diving head first and tagging the bag, ending the inning.

⚾ Dodgers 0, Phillies 0 — Through fifth inning

Top of the fifth: Kiké Hernández popped out to second base before Jesús Luzardo caught a comebacker off the bat of Miguel Rojas. Andy Pages then flied out to right to cap a six-pitch frame.

Luzardo has retired 14 straight batters.

Bottom of the fifth: J.T. Realmuto flied out to right field. Nick Castellanos grounded out to third.

Edmundo Sosa then got the Phillies’ first hit on a soft liner to right-center field, connecting on a changeup off the plate from Blake Snell. Brandon Marsh grounded out softly to first base to end the inning.

⚾ Dodgers 0, Phillies 0 — Through fourth inning

Top of the fourth: Teoscar Hernández grounded out to pitcher Jesús Luzardo, who then struck out Freddie Freeman and Tommy Edman.

Luzardo has retired 11 straight batters.

Bottom of the fourth: Blake Snell struck out Kyle Schwarber. Bryce Harper grounded out and Alec Bohm struck out.

Snell has not allowed a hit, striking out seven and walking two through four innings.

⚾ Dodgers 0, Phillies 0 — Through three innings

Top of the third: Ben Rortvedt struck out and Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts each grounded out in a seven-pitch frame for Jesús Luzardo.

Bottom of the third: Brandon Marsh drew a leadoff walk from Blake Snell, who then struck out Otto Kemp and Trea Turner.

During Kyle Schwarber’s at-bat, Snell made a pick-off throw to first, with Freddie Freeman then throwing to Mookie Betts to tag out Marsh at second base.

Snell has not allowed a hit on 45 pitches.

⚾ Dodgers 0, Phillies 0 — Through second inning

Top of the second: Jesús Luzardo oversees a 1-2-3 inning. Kiké Hernández struck out, Miguel Rojas grounded out and Andy Pages flied out to left field.

Bottom of the second: J.T. Realmuto grounded out to short. Blake Snell struck out Nick Castellanos and Edmundo Sosa to end the inning.

⚾ Dodgers 0, Phillies 0 — Through first inning

Top of the first: Shohei Ohtani took a called third strike for his fifth strikeout of the series. Mookie Betts followed with a single to left field.

Phillies starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo walked Teoscar Hernández before Freddie Freeman lined out near the warning track in right field, moving Betts to third.

Tommy Edman grounded out to second, stranding Betts and Hernández.

Bottom of the first: Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell struck out former Dodger Trea Turner before Kyle Schwarber flied out to left field. Bryce Harper drew a walk and Alec Bohm grounded out to second to end the inning.

PHILADELPHIA — The Dodgers are hoping this NLDS doesn’t return to Philadelphia again.

But if it does, Shohei Ohtani would start in a winner-take-all Game 5 next Saturday.

Despite the three runs Ohtani gave up in the second inning of Game 1, the team was overall encouraged by how he bounced back — and how he attacked the Phillies’ big three hitters of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in particular. That trio was 0-for-nine against him with five strikeouts.

“Shohei did a fantastic job of moving the ball around,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, describing Ohtani’s plan of attack — in which he got ahead early in counts by being aggressive in the zone, especially with secondary pitches — as something for the Dodgers’ other pitchers to replicate over the rest of the series.

“You’ve got to kind of change locations. You’ve got to use the front to back. I thought his curveball was as good as I’ve seen it. But you have to have these guys honor the fastball. They hunt locations. They hunt velocities. And you’ve got to keep them guessing. You just can’t be predictable. And I thought yesterday we did a fantastic job of not being predictable.”

The bigger question, for whenever Ohtani takes the mound again, is whether he will hit better the next time he plays both ways in a game.

At the plate, Ohtani was 0-for-four in Game 1 with a walk and four strikeouts. He went down swinging on three pitches in his first at-bat, then took a called third strike in the three after that.

Roberts conceded that Ohtani’s focus on pitching might have hampered his approach as a hitter.

“I do think that on days that Shohei pitches, a large amount of the focus is on the pitching, which I understand,” Roberts said. “I know [Phillies starter Cristopher] Sánchez was good. But yeah, I mean, kind of trying to weather that three-run inning and kind of stay in there on the pitching side, I’m sure had some kind of bleed in to the effect on the bat.”

During the regular season, Ohtani’s hitting numbers were worse than normal when he also pitched. In his 14 pitching starts, he hit just .222 (albeit with four home runs and 12 RBIs) and struck out in more than one-third of his plate appearances. And in many of those games, he wasn’t even making full-length starts.

The postseason, of course, adds another dynamic given the extra scouting work that goes into pitching in October.

Still, in his postgame press conference, Ohtani reiterated why fulfilling both roles remains a priority for him.

“The reason why I’m a two-way player is because that’s who I am, and it’s what I can do,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “And also, at the same time, it’s what the team wants. So that’s the reason why I’ve been doing this.”

PHILADELPHIA — Will Smith’s hand fracture has healed. He is physically capable of hitting, catching and throwing from behind the plate.

He made his first appearance of this postseason for the Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday, playing the final five innings after entering as a pinch-hitter and taking over catching duties mid-game.

He seemed to be on the verge of resuming starting duties.

Yet, when the Dodgers announced their starting lineup for Game 2 on Monday afternoon, the two-time All-Star was once again on the bench. For the fourth consecutive game in these playoffs, Ben Rortvedt was once again listed as the Dodgers’ starting catcher.

The reason?

“I think the thought was similar to Game 1,” manager Dave Roberts said, “given Will hasn’t had much of a workup coming back from the IL.”

This was something Roberts hinted at during the team’s off-day workout Sunday. Before Game 1 of this series, Smith had played just one game in the previous month. His hand injury meant he was shut down from throwing for several weeks. And, almost like a pitcher, the Dodgers wanted to build up his workload before throwing him back in the starting lineup.

“He hasn’t had the normal buildup, as far as getting his legs back and catching and all that kind of stuff that he normally would coming back from an injury,” Roberts said.

Thus, the Dodgers were set to “run that same playbook” again in Game 2, saving Smith to potentially play the second half of the game as he continues to work back to full strength.

The good news: Roberts said Smith felt good coming out of Game 1, and indicated that if he continues to progress well he should be ready to start in Game 3 on Wednesday.

“He felt how we had hoped,” Roberts said. “There was a little bit of soreness, but just overall good soreness with his entire body.”

PHILADELPHIA — As Clayton Kershaw completed his pregame routine the other day and walked off the field at Citizens Bank Park, I asked him about his postseason debut. That was 17 years and 39 playoff appearances ago, and yet Kershaw remembered it so well that he got his answer out before I got all of my question out.

“I was in the ‘pen,” Kershaw said. “Here.”

The pitching staff of the 2008 Dodgers featured two Hall of Famers: Kershaw, in his first year, and Greg Maddux, in his last year.

PHILADELPHIA — On the mound, he self-destructed in a second inning that nearly placed the game out of his team’s reach.

In the batter’s box, he struck out four times for only the seventh time in his career.

A two-way player for the first time in a postseason game, Shohei Ohtani didn’t save the Dodgers on Saturday night.

Here are the starting lineups for the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park at 3:08 p.m. PDT:

PHILADELPHIA — Teoscar Hernández does not lack for emotion. He plays with joy, with exuberance, with delight.

The Dodgers know he can hit. We all do. If the emotion dissipates, so can the performance.

Hernández could have been the goat Saturday night, in what would have been the Dodgers’ first loss in this postseason. Instead, he hit the game-winning home run, nearly levitated around first base, and became an October hero yet again.

PHILADELPHIA — The Dodgers spent more than $125 million on their bullpen last winter. But when they needed relief late in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday, they turned to a couple of starters who spent much of the season on the injury list.

And it worked out — though just barely — with Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki combining for eight of the final nine outs in a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Alex Vesia got the other out, retiring pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa on a fly ball to center with the bases loaded to end the eighth. Sasaki then came on to close it out in the ninth, getting Bryson Stott, representing the tying run, to pop up in foul territory behind third base to end the game.

PHILADELPHIA — It wasn’t an impassioned speech. But it proved to be a prescient point.

In the hours before Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night, the Dodgers’ offense was gathered for their typical pregame hitters meeting when Aaron Bates, one of the hitting coaches, spoke up and offered a reminder to the room.

In this series, Bates knew there would be moments of adversity. And in this ballpark, where 45,000 crazed Philadelphia Phillies fans have created one of the best home-field advantages in all of baseball, the Dodgers needed to be ready to react and respond.

“The intensity and the fans were going to be there early in the game,” he told them, as infielder Miguel Rojas later recalled.

The Dodgers take on the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park on Monday at 3:08 p.m. PDT.

The game will be televised on TBS, TruTV and HBO Max. Radio broadcasts in the Los Angeles area will be on 570 AM and 1020 AM (Español).

The Dodgers lead the best-of-five series, 1-0.

Here are the latest betting odds for Game 2 of the NLDS:

Here’s the TV schedule for the rest of the series:

Game 3: Wednesday, 6:08 p.m. at Dodger Stadium | TBS, TruTV, HBO Max

*Game 4: Thursday, 3:08 p.m. at Dodger Stadium | TBS, TruTv, HBO Max

*Game 5: Oct. 11, 5:08 p.m. at Philadelphia | TBS, TruTv, HBO Max

* if necessary