Don Larsen’s 1956 World Series perfect game for the New York Yankees is the stuff of legend.
Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell just joined him, in a way, in MLB history.
OptaStats shared this stat late Monday night:
“Blake Snell of the Dodgers is the first MLB pitcher to face the minimum through 8.0 innings of a postseason game since Don Larsen in his 1956 perfect game.”
Snell’s final stat line: 8.0 innings, 1 hit, 10 strikeouts.
The only runner that reached, Caleb Durbin on a single, was picked off by Snell.
Here’s how ESPN’s Jeff Passan described the outing:
“Over his last two playoff starts, Blake Snell has thrown 14 innings, allowed two hits and struck out 19. He made the Phillies (eighth in MLB in runs scored) and Brewers (third) look positively feckless. When Snell is on, there are few better. A tremendous performance in Game 1.”
Snell has such a cool postseason history.
His first legendary outing actually came against the Dodgers, in the 2020 World Series, but that night, Snell was pulled early by Kevin Cash even though he was pitching like Sandy Koufax on that night.
This night, he was only pulled for closer Roki Sasaki.
For eight innings, Snell channeled the greatest pitchers the sport has ever seen.
It hardly gets better than Snell on this special, legendary night.
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