The Los Angeles Dodgers are on the verge of clinching another trip to the National League Championship Series, and their journey through the 2025 postseason has been nothing short of electric. With a blend of dominant pitching, timely hitting, and a dash of historic achievement, the Dodgers have taken a commanding 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series. The storylines are rich, the performances dazzling, and the stakes could not be higher as both teams prepare for a pivotal Game 3.
Let’s start with the man who’s become synonymous with baseball’s modern marvels: Shohei Ohtani. On October 4, Ohtani, now in his eighth MLB season and second with the Dodgers, earned his first postseason win in Dodger blue. Pitching six innings against the Phillies, he allowed just three runs and struck out nine—a testament to his elite form since returning to the mound in 2025. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Ohtani’s impact this season. Offensively, he’s been a juggernaut, posting a .282 batting average, a .392 on-base percentage, and leading the National League with a 1.014 OPS over 158 appearances. It’s the kind of two-way dominance that keeps fans and analysts alike shaking their heads in disbelief.
Ohtani’s exploits haven’t gone unnoticed. On October 6, Major League Baseball announced the finalists for the 2025 Hank Aaron Award, honoring the top offensive player in each league. Ohtani’s name was there—again. He’s the only Dodger among the ten National League finalists and already made history by winning the award in 2023 with the Angels and in 2024 with the Dodgers. No player before him has claimed the honor in both leagues. If he wins again, it’ll be another feather in a cap already brimming with three MVP awards, five All-Star nods, three Silver Sluggers, and a World Series ring. For now, though, Ohtani’s laser-focused on leading Los Angeles back to the NLCS for a second consecutive season.
Of course, baseball is never a one-man show. The Dodgers’ dynamic duo of Teoscar Hernández and Kiké Hernández—no relation, but both postseason heroes—have been delivering in the clutch. In Game 1 of the NLDS, Kiké doubled in two runs in the sixth inning to cut into the Phillies’ lead, and Teoscar launched a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh to put Los Angeles ahead for good. The pair’s synergy was on display again in Game 2, where they combined to score the Dodgers’ first run, setting the tone for a 4-3 victory that gave Los Angeles a 2-0 series advantage. Kiké’s seventh-inning grounder was just slow enough for Teoscar to dash home, and Kiké later crossed the plate himself on a single. These moments are why October baseball has its own brand of magic.
The Hernández tandem has been nothing short of vital. Through four games spanning the Wild Card and Division Series, they’ve driven in 13 of the Dodgers’ 27 postseason runs while hitting a combined .364 (12-for-33). Teoscar, especially, is on a tear—he’s riding a 10-game postseason hitting streak, batting .390 (16-for-41) since Game 6 of last year’s NLCS, with three home runs and nine RBIs leading all Dodger hitters in 2025. Both Hernándezes are tied for the team lead with four runs scored apiece, and Kiké’s five hits in his first three postseason contests have kept the offense humming.
But what about the arms on the mound? The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been rewriting franchise history this October. For the first time ever, their starters have struck out at least nine batters in four straight playoff games. Blake Snell set the tone in Wild Card Game 1, tossing seven innings with nine strikeouts. Yoshinobu Yamamoto followed with 6.2 shutout innings and nine punchouts in Game 2. Then came Ohtani’s Game 1 gem in the NLDS, and Snell again dominated in Game 2, this time allowing just one hit over six innings while fanning nine. This blend of high-octane velocity and masterful off-speed pitches—Snell’s changeup, Ohtani’s curveball (drawing comparisons to Sandy Koufax), and Yamamoto’s splitter—has left opposing hitters baffled and the Dodgers’ faithful roaring.
“The pitching has been truly masterful,” noted one observer, and it’s hard to argue. The Dodgers have managed to shut down not only the Cincinnati Reds—a Wild Card team with a middling offense—but also the fearsome top of the Phillies’ lineup. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper have been held to a combined 2-for-21 with 11 strikeouts in the series. Harper, in particular, has struggled to capitalize on hittable pitches, swinging at ten strikes in the heart of the plate and coming up empty on six so-called “meatballs.” The Phillies, who ranked second in baseball during the regular season against those pitches, are hitting just .148 in the series on them—the worst mark among postseason teams.
After dropping the first two games at home, the Phillies are suddenly one loss away from elimination. Their manager, Rob Thomson, is rolling the dice for Game 3. Aaron Nola, who posted a 6.01 ERA and a 7.94 first-inning ERA during the regular season, will get the start, with Ranger Suárez expected to follow. Despite carrying 12 pitchers on their NLDS roster, the Phillies have used only seven so far, and key arms like Walker Buehler, Taijuan Walker, and Tim Mayza have yet to see action. The off-days built into the schedule might keep some of those bullpen arms idle unless the series extends.
In the aftermath of Game 2’s narrow loss, Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber didn’t mince words: “Does it suck we didn't get a win here? Absolutely. But now we have to go out there, we have to focus on one game at a time. There's no looking ahead, right? Make that flight back home into Philly—because we're going to be coming back at some point—make it worth something.” The Phillies will need more than hope; they’ll need their stars to shine and their bats to wake up if they want to stave off elimination and keep their postseason dreams alive.
As the Dodgers prepare for Game 3, all eyes are on whether they can maintain their historic pitching pace and whether Ohtani and the Hernándezes can continue their October heroics. The Phillies, meanwhile, are left searching for answers, hoping a change of scenery and a spark from their veterans can turn the tide. The drama of October baseball is alive and well—and with the Dodgers one win from the NLCS, the next chapter is about to be written.
