The Los Angeles Dodgers opened their National League Division Series in thrilling fashion, storming back to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5–3 in Game 1 at Citizens Bank Park. What began as a raucous night for the home crowd quickly turned into a showcase of Los Angeles’ resilience, composure, and power under pressure.
Few venues in baseball can match the electric energy of Citizens Bank Park in October. The Philadelphia faithful are known for creating an atmosphere that rattles even the most seasoned opponents, and for much of the night, that intensity seemed to fuel the Phillies. Through the first six innings, the home team appeared in control and the crowd fed off every hit, every strikeout, and every defensive gem. But in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
With two outs in the seventh inning, Teoscar Hernández stepped to the plate and delivered one of the biggest swings of the postseason so far — a towering three-run home run that soared deep into the night and completely flipped the game on its head. The blast not only gave the Dodgers the lead but instantly turned one of baseball’s loudest ballparks into a stunned silence.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy later reflected on the moment, describing how surreal it was to hear the silence echo through the stands after Hernández’s heroics.
“When you can hear a pin drop in the stadium, that’s the ultimate feeling in baseball,” Muncy said. “I felt like the people in the upper deck could hear us cheering in the dugout.”
For Muncy, quieting a postseason crowd in Philadelphia isn’t just a victory on the scoreboard — it’s a moment of pride.
“Something’s going to happen in this game to make the crowd go wild, but that doesn’t matter,” he said. “What matters is what happens at the end — and when we silence the crowd, it’s an amazing feeling.”
Game 1 had everything fans could ask for — momentum swings, emotional highs and lows, and a sense of unpredictability that defines October baseball. Even as the Phillies mounted late pressure, the Dodgers’ bullpen held firm, sealing a crucial road win to open the series.
Now, Los Angeles will aim to carry that same energy into Game 2 on Monday. However, history suggests it won’t be easy. Citizens Bank Park has long been one of the toughest postseason environments in Major League Baseball, boasting a .659 playoff winning percentage — the best among all active ballparks with at least 20 postseason games played. Only the St. Louis Cardinals’ old Busch Stadium II (.660) and the New York Mets’ Shea Stadium (.667) have ever had slightly higher marks.
For the Dodgers, though, silencing the Phillies’ faithful once was a statement. Doing it again would be the sign of a team determined to write its own postseason story.