Blake Snell dominates, Ohtani goes deep as Dodgers blank Phillies

After two nights of getting punched in the mouth by the Phillies, the Dodgers finally answered back on Wednesday with a statement win.

Blake Snell struck out a season-high 12, Shohei Ohtani hit his 51st bomb of the year, and Los Angeles shut out the NL East champs 5-0 at Dodger Stadium to avoid the sweep.

Snell was nasty all night. The two-time Cy Young winner held Philly to just two hits across seven innings, both coming in the third with back-to-back singles from Bryson Stott and Harrison Bader.

Outside of that, he was untouchable. Even when he wobbled in the seventh, issuing consecutive two-out walks to bring the tying run to the plate, Snell slammed the door by striking out rookie Otto Kemp on pitch No. 112.

He walked off the mound screaming as 50,000-plus roared, the kind of “that’s why I’m him” moment that Dodger fans had been waiting for from him.

The offense did its part, too. Freddie Freeman got things started with a solo shot in the second, and Ben Rortvedt added an RBI single for a 2-0 lead. Andy Pages turned chaos into a run in the fourth, drawing a walk, swiping second, taking third on a pickoff error by Jesús Luzardo, and scoring on a clutch two-out knock from Kiké Hernández. Ohtani’s missile later sealed the deal, his 51st homer of the season while extending his MLB-best on-base streak to 22 games.

For the Phillies, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

After flexing their muscles with six homers across the first two games in LA, their bats went completely dead. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper combined to go 0-for-7 with three Schwarber strikeouts, a far cry from the fireworks earlier in the series.

Luzardo wasn’t terrible but he wasn’t great either. Four runs, four hits, six Ks over seven innings but he finally showed cracks against lefties, serving up homers to both Freeman and Ohtani.

The Dodgers needed this one badly. After coughing up late leads in back-to-back losses and watching the Phillies clinch the NL East in their house, Wednesday was about pride. They got dominance from Snell, power from their stars, and a reminder to the rest of the league that they’re still very much a problem.

Philly, meanwhile, leaves LA with the division crown in hand, but also with a little reality check. October isn’t going to be all champagne showers and beer funnels. You still have to beat guys like Snell and Ohtani when the lights are brightest.

Up next, the Phillies head to Arizona to face the Diamondbacks, while the Dodgers roll into a big series against the Giants with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound.

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