PHILADELPHIA — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Blake Snell had yielded to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen after a masterful start and was just a bystander when the Philadelphia Phillies — without any help from their All-Star trio at the top of the batting order — finally mustered a rally in the ninth inning.A leadoff single. A two-run double. A headfirst slide — safe! Phillies bats and a previously silenced crowd both finally rising to the occasion and their feet.Through all the drama, Snell’s confidence in the playoff-tested Dodgers never wavered.“We know we’re going to win,” the pitcher said.Snell allowed one hit in six shutout innings, striking out nine, and the Dodgers made a couple of clutch defensive plays to barely turn back Philadelphia’s late rally Monday night for a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of their NL Division Series.Freddie Freeman made a game-saving pick at first base and Shohei Ohtani delivered an RBI single that helped the Dodgers take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five playoff. The defending World Series champs can reach their 17th National League Championship Series with a Game 3 win Wednesday in Los Angeles.“That was a heck of a ballgame. Lots to unpack in that one,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after his team improved to 4-0 this postseason. “Great ballgame, great plays. Huge win.”Will Smith had a two-run single in a four-run seventh, and the Dodgers took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth.That’s when the Phillies finally mounted a major threat.Nick Castellanos slid headfirst into second base, narrowly eluding a tag, for a two-run d …
