Monday’s National League Division Series games featured strong pitching and notable defensive plays. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies began the evening with a close game that saw the Dodgers secure a 2-0 series lead after overcoming a late rally by the Phillies. In Milwaukee, the Brewers used both their offense and pitching to take a 2-0 lead over the Chicago Cubs.
One of the highlights in Philadelphia was Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki, who has quickly become a reliable reliever after returning from an extended Minor League rehab assignment. Sasaki entered in the ninth inning with two outs and induced a ground ball from Trea Turner, which led to an important play at first base. First baseman Freddie Freeman made a key scoop to end the threat. Sasaki became the first MLB pitcher to record his first two career saves in postseason games since saves became official in 1969.
The Phillies staged a rally in their final inning, narrowing a three-run deficit after hits from Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto, and Nick Castellanos. A bunt attempt by Bryson Stott resulted in an out at third base following advice from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to his defense about covering for such a play. Despite further attempts, Philadelphia could not complete its comeback.
In Milwaukee, Jackson Chourio returned to action after hamstring concerns and hit a home run off Daniel Palencia’s fastball. This home run came on one of the fastest pitches ever hit for a homer in postseason play since pitch tracking began in 2008.
Early scoring defined Game 2 between the Cubs and Brewers as Seiya Suzuki homered for Chicago before Andrew Vaughn responded with his own three-run home run for Milwaukee. This marked the first time both teams hit either a three-run homer or grand slam in the first inning of any postseason game.
Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski set new marks for fastball velocity during his relief appearance, throwing more than half of his pitches above 100 mph and topping out at 104.3 mph. He completed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
Nick Castellanos had another notable moment with a double during Philadelphia’s ninth-inning push, but was thrown out trying to advance further on Alec Bohm’s bunt.
On the mound earlier in Game 2 between Los Angeles and Philadelphia, Blake Snell (Dodgers) and Jesús Luzardo (Phillies) each delivered six shutout innings before offenses broke through later. Snell recorded nine strikeouts while Luzardo retired 17 consecutive batters at one point—a streak second only to Roy Halladay’s franchise record for consecutive batters retired by a Phillies pitcher in postseason history.
The Dodgers’ offense erupted for four runs in the seventh inning behind hits from Teoscar Hernández, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith—who played despite recovering from injury—and Shohei Ohtani. These runs proved decisive as Los Angeles held off Philadelphia’s late-game surge.
