Dodgers' Blake Snell Believes He Could Have Pitched the 9th Inning in NLCS Game 1

Oct 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (7) throws a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth inning during game one of the NLCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Dodgers earned a thrilling Game 1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers to open the National League Championship Series on Monday night thanks to a historic night from starting pitcher Blake Snell.

The Dodgers' ace pitched eight innings, giving up just one hit and striking out 10 batters while walking zero. Although Snell's incredible outing ended after the eighth inning, the two-time Cy Young Award winner said he could have kept it rolling into the ninth inning.

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"Yeah, I felt I could have," Snell said after the Dodgers' 2-1 win. "But I trust [Dodgers manager Dave Roberts]. He knows what's best for the team."

Snell said his outing was indicative of how locked in he's been all postseason. Through three starts, Snell holds a 0.86 ERA and has averaged seven innings pitched per game with a 0.52 WHIP. Across 21 innings, Snell has let up just five hits and two earned runs.

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"I feel like the whole postseason I've been pretty locked in, pretty consistent," Snell said. "Different outings, but, yeah, eight innings, went deeper. The last three I felt really good, really locked in, consistent, similar."

From a hitter's perspective, Snell's outing was among the best first baseman Freddie Freeman has ever seen. Utilizing a nasty changeup pitch for much of the night, Snell had Brewers swinging and missing throughout his eight innings.

"I can't think of one that was just off the top of my head that was just so good from the start. Sometimes it takes an inning or two for someone to settle in. It was from the get-go," Freeman said. "Just what he can do with the change-up against right-handed hitters, I think that's from 82 to 88, he can throttle it whenever he wants. It's not just one pitch. He's throwing -- it's like three different pitches when you throw three different speeds for hitters.

"And then when you think you're going to sit on something, here comes 96 — it was a masterpiece tonight."

With Yoshinobu Yamamoto set to start Game 2, Snell is in line to start a Game 5, if necessary. Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow are the Dodgers' likely starters for Games 3 and 4, in no particular order.

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