Dodgers Shut Out Phillies as Freeman’s Early Homer Sparks 5-0 Win

Lead Blake Snell struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, and Freddie Freeman opened the scoring with a leadoff homer in the second, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-0 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

Nut Graf Facing a potential three-game sweep after consecutive narrow defeats, the Dodgers snapped a two-game skid behind Snell’s dominant outing and timely offense from Freeman and the bottom third of the lineup, preserving their playoff positioning and handing the Phillies their first loss of the series.

Early Offense Sets Tone Freeman led off the second inning with his 21st homer of the season to center field, giving Los Angeles an immediate 1-0 advantage. Two batters later, Ben Rortvedt added an RBI single, driving in Miguel Rojas and extending the lead to 2-0.

Insurance Runs from the Bottom of the Order In the fourth, Kiké Hernández’s two-strike single scored Andy Pages-who had reached on a walk and stolen second-to make it 3-0. Shohei Ohtani followed in the eighth with his 51st homer, a solo shot to center, and Tommy Edman delivered a sacrifice fly shortly thereafter, pushing the score to 5-0.

Snell’s Masterful Performance Snell (5-4) battled through two-out traffic in the third, yielding back-to-back singles but escaping unscathed to preserve the shutout bid. He finished with 112 pitches-69 strikes-allowing just two hits and two walks while matching a season high with 12 strikeouts.

Bullpen Closes It Out Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott combined for two perfect innings, with Scott surrendering only a one-out walk in the ninth before sealing the win and ending Philadelphia’s scoring threat.

Key Takeaways

Dodgers avoid a sweep and improve to 85-67, maintaining ground in the NL West.
Phillies fall to 91-62 despite six strikeouts from Jesús Luzardo, who gave up four runs in seven innings.
Freeman’s homer marked the only run allowed to left-handed hitters by Luzardo all season until Thursday.