Snell serves up a gem as champs Dodgers survive late scare

Blake Snell baffled batters for eight innings but the Los Angeles Dodgers nearly squandered his heroic effort before taking a 2-1 victory at Milwaukee on Monday in their Major League Baseball playoff series opener.

- 

Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell throws during the sixth inning against the Brewers during game one of the NLCS.

(REUTERS)

Snell surrendered only one hit over eight shutout innings. The 32-year-old American left-hander delivered a playoff career high 10 strikeouts with no walks and faced the minimum 24 batters, retiring the last 17 he faced.

“If you can ‘locate’ the fastball, it sets everything else up,” Snell said.

But after Japanese closer Roki Saski surrendered a run and loaded the bases in the ninth, it took reliever Blake Treinen striking out Brice Turang with the bases loaded to preserve a tension-packed victory for the defending World Series champions.

“I trust Roki. I trust Blake. You've just got to attack the zone better,” Snell said. “They had a lot of walks there, had one hit, but those guys are going to figure it out. They're really good.”

Freddie Freeman's solo homer to right field in the sixth inning off Brewers reliever Chad Patrick gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead and Milwaukee closer Abner Uribe’s bases-loaded walk to Mookie Betts in the ninth gave the Dodgers the deciding run.