Shohei Ohtani handled business on the mound, and his teammates returned the favor at the plate. The Los Angeles Dodgers erupted for five unanswered runs across the sixth and seventh innings on their way to a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Making the first postseason start of his career, Ohtani spun six innings of three-run ball with nine strikeouts. Trailing 3-0, Los Angeles crawled back with a two-run, two-out rally in the sixth. The go-ahead blow came in the seventh, when Teoscar Hernandez launched a two-out, three-run blast to give the Dodgers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
With the win, the Dodgers have already spoiled Philadelphia’s home-field advantage. They’ll turn to left-hander Blake Snell (2.35 ERA, 72 K, 11 GS) in Game 2 as they look to head back to Los Angeles with a commanding lead. Snell dominated in Game 1 of the Wild Card, holding the Reds to just two runs over seven innings. He’ll face Phillies southpaw Jesus Luzardo (3.92 ERA, 216 K, 32 GS), who’s set to make his first appearance of the postseason.
First pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for 6:08 p.m. ET on Monday. DraftKings Sportsbook gives the Dodgers a slight edge at -120 on the moneyline, with the Phillies right behind them at -101. The total is set at 7.5 runs.
