The Dodgers changed the script on the Phillies in Game 1 of the NL Division Series, rallying late behind Teoscar Hernandez’s three-run blast and a surprise bullpen cameo from Tyler Glasnow to seal a 5-3 win on Saturday night.
Shohei Ohtani kept the Dodgers close through six innings, striking out nine while allowing three runs. But the real story came after his exit, when Glasnow, originally lined up to start Game 4, came charging out of the bullpen to record five critical outs.
Glasnow hadn’t relieved in a game since 2018, but you wouldn’t have known it. He entered in the seventh after Hernandez’s homer flipped the score and immediately attacked hitters with 98-mph heat.
The Dodgers had trailed 3-0 after six innings thanks to Cristopher Sanchez’s steady start for Philadelphia. That changed quickly when Enrique Hernandez ripped a two-out, two-run double to cut the deficit, setting the stage for Teoscar’s monster swing one inning later.
Matt Strahm entered for the Phillies to protect the lead but left a fastball in the upper part of the zone. Hernandez, who’d been chasing low pitches all night, turned on it and sent it 394 feet to right-center. The blast was his third homer of the postseason and the latest in a run of clutch October moments for the veteran outfielder.
Once the Dodgers had the lead, manager Dave Roberts pieced together the rest with aggressive bullpen moves. Glasnow handled the seventh and most of the eighth, mixing power fastballs with his sharp curve. Alex Vesia followed, escaping a bases-loaded jam when Edmundo Sosa flew out to center. Roki Sasaki, the rookie phenom back from a shoulder injury, took the ball in the ninth and closed it out for his first big-league save.
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For a bullpen that’s been shaky all season, this was a total reversal. Los Angeles’ relievers combined for three shutout innings against one of baseball’s toughest lineups.
The Phillies, on the other hand, relived some familiar October nightmares. Strahm’s mistake pitch added to a streak of postseason heartbreaks for Philadelphia relievers, echoing losses in both the 2023 NLCS and 2024 NLDS.
The Dodgers head into Game 2 with a 1-0 series lead and a bullpen that suddenly looks like a weapon. Glasnow’s next outing will likely come as a starter, but after his gutsy relief showing, he’s already stamped his name as the unsung hero of Game 1.
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