When the Los Angeles Dodgers took the field against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the NLDS, they needed something special to silence the rowdy crowd at American Family Field and really set the tone for the seven-game series.

Early on, it became clear the “something special” was the play of Blake Snell, who entered the game like a man possessed, throwing strike after strike while barely showing any emotion, mowing down batters in order, inning after inning, on the way to one of the most dominant pitching efforts fans have seen in a very long time.

How long, you may ask, has it been since a pitcher maintained a perfect game through six games while facing the minimum? Well, according to OptaSTATS, one has to go all the way back to 1956, when Don Larsen accomplished the feat against the Dodgers. 

“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,” OptaSTATS wrote.

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Taking the mound in World Series Game 5 at Yankee Stadium, New York bested Brooklyn's finest 2-0 to secure one of the most incredible wins in MLB history. Larsen didn't allow a single hit in the contest, and the game would go on to become a certified legend, to the point where it has its own Wikipedia page. 

While Snell wasn't allowed to close out his own game, with rookie phenom Roki Sasaki getting the ball for the ninth inning after “Snellzilla” threw 103 pitches, in the end, his efforts deserve praise all the same, as it proved once and for all that he can go the distance in a pivotal outing.