Featured ALCS X-Factors
USAT’s Gabe Lux shares the biggest negative factors that could play a key role in the ALCS when the Blue Jays take on the Mariners.
sports pulse
MILWAUKEE — On Monday night, the Milwaukee Brewers made a magical defensive play unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a postseason game.
Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman once again tormented the Brewers with a home run and a double.
Former Dodgers closer Blake Treinen arrives to rescue the boy who has been robbed of his job.
But at the end of the day, it was all about Dodgers starter Blake Snell.
This was his game.
This was his night.
This was part of his history.
In one of the best performances in playoff history, Snell put on a pitching clinic for the ages in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. He was in complete control from first pitch to last, and both teams believed they had never seen a game like it.
“This was as good as I can remember in the postseason,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “You don’t see a performance like that very often against a very gritty team, certainly in the postseason. This was pretty special.”
Not only did Snell face at least 24 batters in eight innings, he retired the final 17 batters without hitting a single pitch into the infield.
do not have. One. single. ball.
The Dodgers’ outfield could have passed the time by drinking adult beverages while Snell was on the mound.
Only Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin’s third-inning single prevented his chances of joining Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series as the only players to pitch a perfect game in the postseason.
Snell became the first pitcher in postseason history to pitch at least eight shutout innings, allowing one or fewer hits, no walks, and striking out 10 or more batters. He is the fourth pitcher to face the fewest batters through eight innings, following Larsen and Bill James in the 1914 World Series and Hall of Fame pitcher Chief Bender in the 1910 World Series.
“This kid is unbelievable,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I think this was the most dominant performance against us. I’ve been here 10 years. That kid was amazing. Snell was unbelievable. He was unbelievable.”
“Nothing progressed.”
The Brewers never even got a whiff of a rally during Snell’s eight innings. He threw 103 pitches and the Brewers whiffed 22 times. He threw 23 changeups and the Brewers whiffed 14 times.
The best postseason pitching performance they’ve ever seen?
“I can’t think of any games I could have come up with,” Freeman said. “That was really good from the beginning. Sometimes it takes an inning or two to get used to it. It’s been like that from the beginning. Tonight was a masterpiece.”
“He’s great. There’s a reason he’s a two-time Cy Young Award winner. He’s on a big stage right now and he’s just doing what he’s always done.”
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts has played in 81 postseason games over nine years with two teams, and I can’t think of another game where he was so dominant that he took the team’s breath away from start to finish.
“That’s pretty difficult,” Betts said. “It was electricity, the electricity went out.”
The Brewers were stunned in the 9th inning, when Roberts pulled out Snell after 103 pitches and replaced him with rookie Aki Sasaki.
Brewers second baseman Bryce Turan struck out with the bases loaded, ending the game. “He looked like he was going for the corner as hard as he could.” “Once the ball got to the box, it just kind of disappeared. He commanded the zone. He was throwing every pitch for a strike.”
Said Brewers center fielder Sal Frelich: “He was definitely in the game tonight. He got executed and didn’t hit us very well. We play a lot of really good pitchers, right? And when you see a guy like that, you’ve got to choke with the bat and find a way to get on base.”
“I didn’t do that tonight.”
Not even close.
Snell threw just 51 of his 103 fastballs and relied heavily on his changeup, almost leaving the Brewers at their mercy. They had no chance because he had such pinpoint command.
Again, this isn’t all that different from what Snell has been doing the past four weeks. Snell has a 0.68 ERA in his last six starts since September 10, with 15 hits and 56 strikeouts in 40 innings. Since 1913, when earned run average became an official statistic, he is the only pitcher to go 5-0 with an ERA under 1.00, with at least 50 strikeouts and fewer than 15 hits allowed in six starts, according to OptaSTATS.
He was like Sandy Koufax this postseason, going 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA, only six hits, and 28 strikeouts. He has allowed just one run in 21 innings this postseason and has led his team to 16 consecutive games.
It’s hard to believe this is the same player who made 10 postseason starts in his career and never lasted more than 5 2/3 innings before signing a five-year, $182 million free agent contract with the Dodgers last winter. He pitched at least six innings in each of his three starts.
“In the postseason, if you dominate and do great, no one can say anything. The best feeling would be to prove yourself right or go out there and fail, but at least you can learn and grow and figure out who you are and how to get better from there,” Snell said.
Snell was never in trouble all night, and perhaps his most impressive feat was shutting out the Brewers just as the game looked like it was going to turn after the funniest double play of all time.
With one out and the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Max Muncy threw Quinn Priester’s cut fastball 404 feet to center field, potentially hitting a grand slam over the center field wall. Brewers center fielder Sal Frelich jumped and brought the ball back, but it bounced off the wall and returned to his glove.
The Dodgers, who initially thought the ball would go over the fence, froze. And they thought Frelick caught the ball, even though left field umpire Chad Fairchild ruled the ball was in play.
Teoscar Hernandez, who was returning to make the tag at third base, rushed home. Frelich took a shot that cut off Joey Ortiz, then fired the shot just past Hernandez, not realizing it was a force play.
Meanwhile, Brewers catcher William Contreras noticed that Will Smith, who had returned to second base believing the ball was caught, sprinted to third base.
I’m out at home. Out at third base. Double play.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first 8-6-2 double play in postseason history.
“Isn’t this the longest double play in history?” Muncy said. “It was unbelievable.”
But even as the sellout crowd of 41,737 roared and the Brewers enthusiastically celebrated his run off the field, Snell never lost his cool. He struck out leadoff batters Jackson Cholio and Christian Yelich to lead off the fourth, prompting a comeback hit by William Contreras. The next 12 batters were also retired, and not a single player allowed an infield hit.
“It was huge for Blake to get another zero so quickly,” Smith said.
He was truly the latest gem in this starting rotation. The Dodgers’ four starting pitchers have posted 1.65 ERAs, .141 batting averages, and 56 strikeouts in seven games this postseason. They have struck out at least nine batters in five games, the most in a single postseason in franchise history.
“I don’t know if I can write enough stories about our starting pitchers,” Freeman said. “It’s been really great. They seem to feed off each other. And as an offense, we’re just doing our best to support them.”
And Snell, who doesn’t have a World Series ring, helped the Dodgers move one game closer to becoming the first team in a quarter century to win back-to-back championships.
“It feels like a dream come true to be here now. I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Snell said. I’m going to do everything I can to win the World Series.”
Indeed, he did just that on a magical night.
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
