Dodgers’ Arms Too Much For Brewers’ Bats

Manager Dave Roberts gave the ball to Snell for Game One, and the two-time Cy Young Award-winner did not disappoint his skipper.

Evoking memories of post-season mastery from Don Larsen and Roy Halladay, Snell pitched arguably his finest game outside of his no-hit performance on August 2, 2024, as a member of the San Francisco Giants.

Snell allowed just one hit–a single by Caleb Durbin in the 3rd inning–and promptly picked Durbin off attempting to steal second. He did not walk anyone, and his defense behind him committed no errors, which meant Snell faced the minimum number of batters across his eight innings of work. Two relievers behind him sealed the 2-1 victory.

That accomplishment had not been seen since Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Snell mowed down the Brewers, who owned the best record in baseball over the regular season, striking out ten over 103 pitches.

His teammates were effusive in their praise of how locked in Snell was.

“That was just so good from the start,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, whose sixth-inning homer broke a scoreless tie. “Sometimes it takes an inning or two for someone to settle in. [Tonight] it was from the get-go.”

Although he was denied a chance at a complete game win after Roberts pulled Snell after his eighth inning, the left-hander’s performance will go down as one of the Dodgers’ all-time best. Were it not for Durbin’s knock, Snell’s mastery was making TBS announcers Ron Darling and Brian Anderson muse on whether or not this was the greatest playoff performance by a pitcher they had ever seen.

Neither was around to witness Larsen’s gem 69 years ago, but they compared Monday’s act to Halladay’s 2010 no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in Game One of that year’s NLDS.

No other pitcher has ever thrown a no-hit game in the postseason.

One day later, Snell’s teammate and Game Two starter, Yamamoto, said, “Hold my beer.”

Yamamoto Seals The Deal For The Dodgers In Game Two

Not to be outdone, Yamamoto pushed the Brewers to the brink with his Game Two start, one that was arguably as good, if not better, than Snell’s.

Yamamoto’s first pitch of the game to Jackson Chourio ended up in the right-center field bleachers. He settled in following and kept Milwaukee’s hitters off-balance all night, refusing to allow the Brewers another run in his complete-game 5-1 win.

Yamamoto is pitching in his second major-league season after seven stellar years in Japan. He surrendered just three hits and one walk while striking out seven in the first postseason complete game by a Dodgers pitcher since Jose Lima in 2004.

Yamamoto was brief and to the point in his self-assessment of his performance on Tuesday.

“I established my rhythm,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter, “and then I dictated the tempo based off the game.”

Roberts was similar in his matter-of-fact evaluation of his team’s strengths.

“If you look at the construction of our roster currently, the strength is starting pitching,” Roberts said. “And when you can have your most talented pitchers get the most outs, then you’re in a good spot.”

Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy, whose team tied for first in the National League in team batting average with a .258 mark, has not seen such sorcery inflicted on his hitters.

“These pitchers brought out the worst in us,” Murphy said.

The overall stats from the two starters are staggering: 17 IP, 5 hits, 17 strikeouts, one walk, and one earned run allowed. This is all on the road under the brightest of postseason lights against the NL’s top seed.

End Of Los Angeles Dodgers Rant: The Milwaukee Brewers Are In Trouble

If facing the likes of Snell and Yamamoto made the Brewers break out in a cold sweat, consider this. Awaiting Milwaukee on the mound at Dodger Stadium for the next two games are likely Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.

If that is not enough to cause a breakout of hives, should the Brewers somehow win two of the next three to shift the series back to Milwaukee, guess who they will likely see with their season on the line? Yep, Snell and Yamamoto.

To say the Brewers’ season is in trouble would be a vast understatement, but it is not because they are playing so poorly. It is because the Dodgers are pitching and playing that much better.