It probably didn't feel like one.
For the third consecutive day, the Dodgers reminded Philadelphia what a championship-caliber lineup looks like when it senses vulnerability. This time, they pounced on rookie Andrew Painter early, kept pressure on the Phillies bullpen all afternoon and cruised to a 9-1 victory at Dodger Stadium to capture the rubber game of a marquee National League series.
The final score was ugly.
The larger concern might be the offense.
Over their last 11 games, the Phillies have scored just 26 runs. They've somehow managed to remain competitive during that stretch, going 5-6 thanks largely to outstanding starting pitching. But when the pitching cracked Sunday, there was little margin left for recovery.
That was evident almost immediately.
Making another important step in his development against one of baseball's deepest lineups, Painter found himself working from behind throughout the afternoon. The Dodgers fouled off pitches, extended at-bats and forced the 22-year-old right-hander to labor for nearly every out.
By the time he completed the second inning, Painter had already thrown 49 pitches.
The Dodgers finally broke through in the second when Alex Freeland lined a two-out double into deep center field, scoring Max Muncy for the game's first run. Painter escaped further trouble by striking out Shohei Ohtani, but the reprieve proved temporary.
An inning later, Freddie Freeman singled and eventually scored on a Kyle Tucker RBI single that took a cruel hop past first base and into right field. Suddenly it was 2-0.
The game unraveled in the fourth.
Ryan Ward opened the inning by launching a solo homer to right field. Two batters later, Freeland struck again, sending another ball over the fence to push the Dodgers' lead to 4-0 and end Painter's afternoon.
The stat line wasn't catastrophic — 3 1/3 innings, seven hits, four runs, one walk and three strikeouts — but it reflected what the Dodgers do better than almost anyone in baseball.
They make pitchers work.
Painter threw 80 pitches to record just 10 outs.
While the Dodgers were grinding through at-bats, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was busy carving through the Phillies lineup.
The right-hander looked every bit like the ace Los Angeles envisioned when it committed more than $300 million to bring him from Japan. He struck out 10 Phillies in 5 1/3 scoreless innings, repeatedly overpowering hitters when traffic developed.
Philadelphia's best opportunity arrived in the fifth.
Rafael Marchán singled. Justin Crawford followed with a double. Suddenly the Phillies had runners on second and third with one out and a chance to cut into the deficit.
Instead, Yamamoto elevated his game.
He struck out Kyle Schwarber.
Then he struck out Trea Turner.
Threat over.
That sequence felt like the afternoon in miniature. Every time the Phillies appeared ready to generate momentum, the Dodgers simply had another answer.
Compounding matters was the loss of J.T. Realmuto, who exited after being hit on the left wrist by a 97 mph fastball in the third inning. The club later announced he suffered a bruised wrist.
The Dodgers never stopped adding on.
They scored in six different innings and continued to pressure Philadelphia's bullpen throughout the afternoon. By game's end, the Phillies had allowed runs in every inning except the first.
Bryson Stott's solo homer in the ninth prevented the shutout, but it did little to change the feeling of a game that had long since been decided.
The Phillies still finished the trip at 4-2, which would have sounded like a success before they left Philadelphia.
Yet the larger takeaway from the weekend may be the growing offensive drought.
The Phillies have received enough pitching lately to survive.
They haven't received enough hitting to thrive.
And against a Dodgers club built to punish mistakes and capitalize on opportunities, that imbalance became impossible to ignore.
The Phillies will have Monday off before opening a three-game series Tuesday night against the Padres at Citizens Bank Park. Aaron Nola is scheduled to start the opener opposite San Diego right-hander Randy Vásquez.
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