The Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers will officially begin their series on Saturday, October 4th. This Phillies vs Dodgers NLDS series will feature two of the best teams in the sport, potentially paving a way to the World Series for the winner.
Game one will feature Cristopher Sanchez pitching for Philadelphia and Shohei Ohtani taking the mound for Los Angeles. This will be the first postseason pitching appearance for Ohtani. The injury to Zack Wheeler bumped up Sanchez in the Phillies’ rotation, making him the clear game one starter.
The pitching matchups for the remainder of the series are not set in stone, but there is a good idea of who may go. The Phillies will feature Ranger Suarez and Jesus Luzardo in games two and three; the order is still undecided, per manager Rob Thomson.
The Dodgers have a couple of ways to go as well, and they could feature Tyler Glasnow or wild card game one starter Blake Snell. Glasnow was available to pitch out of the bullpen in the wild-card series, but was not used. Snell would be on five days’ rest. If Snell is chosen, expect Yoshinobu Yamamoto to pitch game three. In the event Glasnow starts, Snell would pitch game three in Los Angeles.
The Phillies vs the Dodgers occurred six times this season, most recently on September 17th. Philadelphia took the season series 4-2, winning both series throughout the year. The record went in the Phillies’ direction, but the Dodgers outplayed them in total stats. They outscored Philadelphia despite losing the season series and also dominated them in the hits and batting average categories.
The Phillies have made a name for themselves late in games. They have the most runs scored after the seventh inning in the entire MLB. They showed this the last time they took on Ohtani. He carried a no-hitter through five innings on September 16th vs Philadelphia. There is no Phillies hitter with a hit off of Ohtani apart from Nick Castellanos in their entire careers.
Despite Ohtani’s fantastic start, the Dodgers’ bullpen could not maintain the lead. The Phillies took over late in the game as they often do. They ended up coming out on top, winning the game 9-6. This will be a big story to watch as the series unfolds: Los Angeles’s lackluster bullpen against Philadelphia’s elite late-game offense.
Bryce Harper is notorious for his incredible performances and moments when the lights turn brightest. He will once again be key to the Phillies as they look to finally break through and win the World Series. NL home run champion Kyle Schwarber and NL batting champion Trea Turner round out the top three in Philadelphia’s batting order.
Ohtani is a global superstar who started this year’s postseason off with a bang. He hit two home runs in the first wild-card game against the Cincinnati Reds. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are another pair of former MVPs with monstrous postseason performances who will look to shine once again.
This NLDS matchup, Phillies vs Dodgers, will showcase two of the premier teams in the sport. This has the potential to be the best series of the entire postseason. A battle of stars of this caliber will surely not disappoint.
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