Blake Snell delivered his best outing of the season with 12 strikeouts over seven innings. Shohei Ohtani hit his 51st home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. The win allowed Los Angeles to avoid a sweep after dropping the series’ first two games.
Oddsmakers had the Dodgers listed as slight favorites at -120 on the moneyline, while the Phillies entered at even odds. The over/under was set at eight runs, which stayed under as Los Angeles’ pitching limited Philadelphia to two hits.
Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, set a season high in strikeouts and matched his longest outing of the year. He allowed only back-to-back singles in the third inning from Bryson Stott and Harrison Bader, escaping trouble by retiring the next batter. His command briefly wavered in the seventh when he issued two walks with two outs, bringing the tying run to the plate. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts visited the mound, with reliever Alex Vesia warming in the bullpen, but elected to leave Snell in the game. The decision paid off when Snell struck out rookie Otto Kemp on a high fastball, punctuating his night with a roar as the crowd of 50,859 cheered. Snell threw a season-high 112 pitches, 69 for strikes, and improved to 5-4 while earning his first career win against Philadelphia.
Los Angeles provided early run support. Freddie Freeman opened the scoring in the second inning with a solo home run to right, his 26th of the season. Ben Rortvedt added an RBI single later in the frame, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 cushion. In the fourth, Andy Pages walked and advanced on a stolen base before reaching third on a pickoff error by Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo. Kiké Hernández then lined a two-out single to bring him home.
The Dodgers extended their advantage in the fifth when Ohtani connected for a towering drive into the right-field pavilion. The home run not only marked his 51st of the season but also extended his on-base streak to 22 games, the longest active streak in the majors. Freeman later crossed the plate again on an RBI hit, giving Los Angeles a five-run margin.
Luzardo fell to 14-7 despite striking out six over seven innings. He allowed four runs on four hits across 106 pitches, one shy of his season high. Notably, Freeman and Ohtani homered off him, marking the first time he had surrendered long balls to left-handed batters all year.
After hitting six home runs in the first two games of the series, the Phillies were stifled offensively. Kyle Schwarber, who entered with 53 homers, went hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts, while Bryce Harper also finished 0-for-3.
With the win, the Dodgers snapped a two-game skid and held their position in the National League West. They will return to divisional play on Thursday, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8, 2.66 ERA) scheduled to face San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb (14-10, 3.34 ERA). The Phillies will travel to Arizona for a Friday matchup, with Ryne Nelson (7-3, 3.34 ERA) set to start for the Diamondbacks.
