2025 NLDS Game 2 Post-Game Thread: Snell, Sasaki Overcome Phillies and Dodgers Bullpen, To Go Up 2-0

DODGERS 4, PHILLIES 3

One year ago, the Dodgers' bullpen put the team on its shoulders and carried the team to a World Series Championship. This year, the Dodgers bullpen--with some of the very same arms that were incredible last year--threaten to corrode the Dodgers' 2025 chances from the inside.

Blake Treinen was almost the goat tonight, entering the game in the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead, following six scoreless innings from starter Blake Snell and two solid one-run innings from converted starter Emmet Sheehan. Treinen proceeded to shit the bed, yielding a leadoff single to Alec Bohm, then a double to JT Realmuto, and then a two-RBI double from Nick Castellanos, who wasn't even supposed to be in the lineup except Harrison Bader pulled a groin muscle. Treinen left having given up two runs and left one RISP, and not having gotten even one out.

Credit Alex Vesia--the only Dodgers bullpen arm to have recorded an out in two games of the 2025 NLDS--as well as Max Muncy and Mookie Betts for turning a Bryson Stott bunt into an out on the lead runner, Castellanos. Vesia then yielded a single and then got a force out to make it two outs, Phils at the corners.

And then Dave Roberts did the thing that he should have done earlier, and brought in Roki Sasaki, who got the third out and earned his second save of the NLDS. (Tommy Edman almost threw the ball away, but Freddie Freeman saved Edman's bacon to close out the game.) Said the TBS announcer, "Oh, my. Tommy Edman owes Freddie Freeman the fattest steak dinner he's ever had." Book Maestro's on Tuesday night, stat.

The post-game banter on the SoSG Whats App channel went like this:

Sax: Alex Vesia is the only non-starter that has gotten outs this NLDS

Nomo: Any discussion of using Treinen again is also a non-starter.

We didn't need that heart attack Monday night, but we got it. And we also got a 2-0 NLDS lead on the road (fangraphs just jumped our odds from ~75% to >90%). I never would have expected this, not after watching Game 2 play out today. Consider ourselves very lucky.

But let's all agree, we won't use Blake Treinen again in 2025, at least not without a 15-run lead.

And I'm not even going to talk about Andy Pages, now 1-for-17 in the postseason, and swinging recklessly and early every AB.