Dodgers Interview: Snellzilla Dissects his Dominant Outing
PHILADELPHIA — Blake Snell walked into the interview room the way he’d walked off the mound: steady, locked in, and still buzzing from a 4–3 nailbiter that pushed the Dodgers to a 2–0 series lead in Philadelphia. He gave them six scoreless on one hit, then watched a ninth inning turn into a tightrope act before the team escaped.
Asked what it felt like watching that final frame, Snell said the dugout never cracked. “The mood was good. Excitement, belief. We know we’re going to win. We’re confident in that and we found a way to win,” he said, noting the defense “made some really good plays” to close it out.
His own night started with fastball command that set the tone. “Early on it was big,” Snell said. “I was just trying to figure out what their game plan was and then how I was going to attack.” Having just faced the Phillies recently, he knew he’d need a different mix. “I knew I was going to have to adjust and do some things differently and then keep some things the same as well,” he explained. “Just reading swings, approach, trying to figure them out and then attack.”
One of the signature moments came in the sixth, a chess match with Bryce Harper. Snell wanted a specific outcome. “I needed weak contact,” he said. “I knew I was going to have to attack him somewhere he could hit, but I felt confident with the slider. Today I felt really confident with that pitch, so I just rode it against him that at-bat and ended up winning.”
The final act belonged to the gloves, highlighted by Mookie Betts making a difficult play at short in the cauldron of Citizens Bank Park. Snell lit up describing it. “You practice that play all the time and you never know when it’s going to happen,” he said. “For it to happen in the postseason in Philly, tough environment, and to be there, make the throw, make the catch, make the play, is pretty amazing. Everyone was fired up. The dugout went crazy. To be able to do that play and everyone do it correctly was pretty amazing.”
Six zeros from Snell. The offense did its damage with a four-run burst. The ninth got hairy. The handshake line still happened. In October, that’s the recipe you take every time.
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