Making his 10th start of the 2025 season, 32-year-old Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell gave the Dodgers exactly what they needed to avoid being swept by the National League East first-place Philadelphia Phillies in front of a Dodger Stadium crowd of 50,859 on Wednesday night.
All the Seattle, WA native and first-round draft pick in 2011 by the Tampa Bay Rays out of Shorewood High School in Shoreline, WA did was allow no runs and only two hits, while striking out 12 and walking two in his outstanding 7.0 innings pitched, giving a loud yell after striking out Phillies third baseman Otto Kemp (representing the tying run) to end the top of the seventh inning and his night.
(SportsNet LA)
“Any time I face a really good team I try to bring my best stuff and be ready,” Snell told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson following the Dodgers dominating 5-0 shutout win. “I think the biggest thing was just command, I could command the fastball, which really set up the off-speed, and then the sequencing was really good today. Could have been better, but, you know, just starting to feel comfortable and attacking the zone more,” he added.
Just prior to Snell’s now legendary strikeout (and yell), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made a mound visit and everyone at the stadium, watching on television, and listening on radio thought for sure that he was going to take Snell out of the game, having made 112 pitches (69 for strikes), even 29-year-old Dodgers left-hander Alex Vesia, who had already exited the Dodgers bullpen and was making his way to the mound. But Snell was adamant with the Dodgers skipper that he could finish the inning, which he did with his strikeout of Kemp.
(SportsNetLA)
The Dodgers very much needed Snell’s stellar outing, as the NL West second-place San Diego Padres also won on Wednesday. With the win, the Dodgers maintained their 2.0-game lead over the Friars in the tightly contested NL West.
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