MLB Baseball
2025-10-06 - Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : MLB Baseball Playoff Divisional Series Game 2
Monday 6th October 2025 - Scheduled 6:08pm
11:08pm (British Time)
Preview
They may have struggled to find a way to get to Shohei Ohtani, but everyone associated with the Philadelphia Phillies will have felt they were in a good position once both starters from Game 1 were pulled out of the outing.
At the end of Ohtani's time and Cristopher Sanchez's run, the Phillies were leading the Los Angeles Dodgers and the home team will certainly have had more faith in their bullpen.
However, it was the bullpen that ultimately gave up a three run Home Run and that proved to be the difference with the Los Angeles Dodgers stealing the game 5-3. The 2024 World Series Champions will have been very happy with a split of the first two games in a tough ballpark, but there is every chance that Los Angeles are going to have an even better position when they return home.
After the strong starting performance from Shohei Ohtani, Game 2 is being played with a day of rest and that is good news for Blake Snell, who will be given the ball for the Dodgers. The pitcher has plenty of Playoff experience, and pitched against the Dodgers in the World Series when a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, while Blake Snell threw 7 Innings and allowed just two runs in a win over the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Round last week.
Blake Snell ended the regular season in fine form and the limited time spent on the mound as he worked back from injury may actually put him in a good spot to have a big post-season impact.
One of those strong outings last month was against the Philadelphia Phillies and Snell kept them scoreless in 7 Innings thrown and he picked up the decision win. The pitcher had 12 Strikeouts that day and the Dodgers have to be very comfortable that Blake Snell can give them enough Innings to protect the vulnerable bullpen.
After losing Game 1, the pressure is on the Phillies to respond after the batting lineup struggled as much as they did.
It will also put pressure on Jesus Luzardo who has started three times in the Playoffs and he has a 0-2 record and 7.71 ERA in those. The last was back in 2023 as a member of the Miami Marlins against the Philadelphia Phillies, but the bullpen will be ready if Luzardo does struggle early in this one.
The 2025 season was a solid one for Jesus Luzardo overall, but there were some signs that he was beginning to have some problems late in the regular season. That included giving up four runs in 7 Innings thrown on the road against the Dodgers, although Luzardo will point out that he held the Dodgers scoreless in 7 Innings thrown at home.
However, that outing was back in April and the environment is much different in October.
Prediction
The manner of the Game 1 defeat will have really stung the Philadelphia Phillies and this is not going to be an easy opportunity to bounce back.
Blake Snell has pitched really well down the stretch and had a solid outing in the Wild Card Round.
The Playoff experience will also help, while Jesus Lazardo had some rougher outings over the last few weeks compared with his overall season performance.
To his credit, recent starts in this ballpark have remained pretty solid, but Luzardo was knocked around by the Dodgers last month and that will be the freshest memory about facing this batting lineup.
This is a season that has meant so much to the Phillies and it is hard to see them going 0-2 down after two games at home, but the Dodgers have shown a Champions mentality and may just have enough from the starter to protect the bullpen and earn another narrow win.
The Pick :
Philadelphia Phillies 2-4 Los Angeles Dodgers
