Oct 6, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) reacts to striking out against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning during game two of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
PHILADELPHIA – During the 2025 regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers' team OPS of .787 was the second-highest in all of baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies' .759 OPS ranked fourth.
So naturally, Monday evening's showdown between two top-ranked offenses was a good old-fashioned pitchers' duel.
Jesús Luzardo and Blake Snell both delivered absolute gems, but the Phillies' ninth-inning rally ultimately fell one run short in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss.
The first two-thirds of the game were very uneventful. Luzardo allowed one hit to Mookie Betts in the first inning, and then locked down the Dodgers through six. Snell allowed one hit to Edmundo Sosa in the fifth inning, but blanked the Phils otherwise.
Luzardo's performance was truly excellent. He was doing it all, holding down the defending World Series champions with sharp pitching and defense:
While the Phillies offense is quiet, Jesús Luzardo is providing the highlights himself!pic.twitter.com/aVUKzvrVip
After six scoreless innings, Luzardo retook the mound for the seventh. That's where things went wrong.
Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman started the inning off with a single and a double, respectively. Rob Thomson removed Luzardo from the game with runners on second and third and no outs. For the second consecutive game, Orion Kerkering entered in relief.
Kiké Hernandez sent one run home with an RBI fielder's choice, and then Will Smith brought in two more. Kerkering left the game. Also for the second consecutive game, Matt Strahm entered. Shohei Ohtani extended the Dodgers' lead to 4-0 with an RBI single. By the time Mookie Betts popped out, the Dodgers had sent nine men to the plate in the seventh. The Phillies fans booed their team off the field.
The Fightins finally showed signs of life in the bottom of the eighth inning. Max Kepler, pinch-hitting for Otto Kemp, smoked a triple down the right field line, and Trea Turner brought him home with an RBI single:
🚨🚨🚨THE PHILLIES HAVE SCORED A RUN🚨🚨🚨pic.twitter.com/2WvduFTWYK
But – stop me if you've heard this before – the top of the order couldn't deliver. Kyle Schwarber struck out and Bryce Harper flew out to end the inning.
Jhoan Duran entered for the top of the ninth. There was much fanfare. The scoreboard invited fans to join in on the light show. The lights went out. The bell tolled. Flames atop the ivy wall in center field heralded Duran's entrance.
And the Phillies fans booed.
Fans at Citizens Bank Park booed the Phillies doing Jhoan Duran’s light show down three runs
(Via @JClarkNBCS)
pic.twitter.com/ASQvrCq0sZ
They were fed up. Why shouldn't they be? For three years (four, if you count the World Series), it's been the same story. The Phillies make it to the playoffs. The starting pitching delivers. The lineup forgets how to hit a baseball.
And then, in the bottom of the ninth, the lineup remembered how to hit a baseball.
Alec Bohm got it started with a single. J.T. Realmuto followed it up with a double. Nick Castellanos sent them both home with an RBI double, and Citizens Bank Park came to life again:
Nick Castellanos makes it 4-3. Do the Phillies have life?! pic.twitter.com/F0ly6KqVtI
The Fightins were fighting. It seemed like the impossible could be possible.
Bryson Stott showed bunt and ended up bunting into a fielder's choice:
Should the Phillies have taken the bunt off with the Dodgers cheating in?
(@TalkinBaseball_)
pic.twitter.com/k3IUjpT8ZP
Kepler grounded into a force out. Trea Turner grounded out to first. And that was all she wrote.
The crowd – who had waited all game for something to cheer for – sat there stunned.
After five shutout innings from Cristopher Sánchez in Game 1 and six shutout innings from Jesús Luzardo in Game 2, the Phillies find themselves down 0-2 in the NLDS. The late comeback attempt just added insult to insult.
If the Phillies want to advance to the NLCS, they will have to win three straight against the Dodgers, two of which are in Los Angeles.
Of course the Phillies fans booed. They were made to believe that this year would be different. But through two postseason games, it just looks like more of the same.
