Dodgers History: The Brief but Colorful History of Philadelphia vs. LA in October

LOS ANGELES — You’d think with all the mileage the Dodgers and Phillies have racked up in the National League, they’d be butting heads every October. Funny thing is, they really haven’t. When they do, though, it gets memorable fast. Let’s look back at some of the key moments in the history of this series.

The drought years

For decades, after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, the “rivalry” was pretty one-sided. The Dodgers were kings of the 1950s and ‘60s, powered by Koufax, Drysdale, and that relentless pitching machine. Philadelphia? They weren’t even in the conversation. One winning season in the 1960s. That’s it. Not until the mid-1970s when the divisional playoffs began did the Phillies finally muscle their way back into relevance.

1977 NLCS (Dodgers, 3 games to 1): The rally that broke Philly’s heart

The Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles and built their reputation on power hitting, speed, and swagger. The Phillies, meanwhile, had assembled a roster that looked like it should win everything: Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Larry Bowa, Garry Maddox, and a bullpen anchored by Tug McGraw. They won 101 games in 1977, best in the league.

Enter the Dodgers in the NLCS.

The series shifted to Veterans Stadium tied at a game apiece. Game 3 is where the folklore kicks in. Phillies were up 5–3 in the ninth, just three outs from a 2–1 series lead. Then Manny Mota pinch-hit, lofted a fly ball that Luzinski misplayed in left. The door cracked open, and the Dodgers stormed through it. Steve Garvey and Ron Cey followed with hits, Davey Lopes’ grounder caromed off Schmidt’s knee, and suddenly Philly’s season was unraveling in real time. The Dodgers stole it, 6–5, and closed out the series the next day. They ended up dropping the Fall Classic to the Yankees that year, but Phillies fans, never known to be the most charitable of folks, have never forgotten. They still talk about “Black Friday,” October 7, 1977, as one of the most gut-wrenching collapses in franchise history.

1978 (Dodgers, 3 games to 1): Same movie, different year

You’d think revenge was coming the following year. Another 90-plus wins for Philadelphia, another Schmidt-fueled offense, and another shot at the Dodgers.

Instead, déjà vu.

L.A. took the first two at Dodger Stadium, then went back to Philly and buried the Phillies again. Garvey had one of his all-time postseason performances—four homers in the series, including two in the clincher. Once again, the Dodgers were dancing into the World Series, and once again the Phillies were left with a sour taste. And once again, the Dodgers lost to the hated Yankees in the World Series in six games. The whole thing had the air of inevitability about it.

The Phillies would have to wait until the 80s to make their comeback.

1983 NLCS (Phillies, 3 games to 1): The tables turn

Baseball has a way of circling back. By 1983, the Dodgers’ championship core was aging. They’d snagged the crown in 1981, but the losses to the Yankees still stung. The Phillies on the other hand, still led by Schmidt and Steve Carlton, had one more run left in them. They were dubbed the “Wheeze Kids” because so many stars were pushing mid-30s, but they had just enough left in the tank.

The two met again in the NLCS. This time, no late-inning collapses. Philly pitching smothered the Dodgers. Carlton was brilliant, John Denny outdueled Fernando Valenzuela, and Gary Matthews tore the cover off the ball. Phillies took the series in four games, finally flipping the script.

They went on to the World Series, losing to Joe Altobelli’s Orioles in five. (Legendary manager Earl Weaver was gone by then, but you can almost imagine him puffing on a cigarette in the shadows.)

2008 NLCS (Phillies, 4 games to 1): The Matt Stairs homer

For twenty-five years, the teams didn’t cross paths in October, mostly because Philadelphia just wasn’t a very good team in the 1990s (a .471 winning percentage in the decade). They had one magical year in 1993 when the Phils reached the World Series before losing to the Blue Jays. The 90s weren’t much better for the Dodgers. A couple of postseason appearances, but no trips to the Fall Classic. This decade belonged to the Braves, by far the cream of the National League.

Then 2008 rolled around. Dodgers had just pulled off the Manny Ramirez trade, and Chavez Ravine was electric again. Philly had built a core of homegrown studs: Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, and future Dodgers Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins.

The two teams met met in the Game 4 at Dodger Stadium remains infamous. Dodgers were trying to even the series, and the game was tied in the top of the eighth. But Jonathan Broxton left a fastball over the middle, and Matt Stairs unloaded. That ball wasn’t just hit, it was destroyed, one of those “did it ever come down?” moonshots into the night. Phillies fans still grin about it, Dodgers fans still wince.

Philly won the pennant and then the World Series, their first since 1980.

2009 NLCS (Phillies 4 games to 1): More of the same

One year later, a rematch. Dodgers had the young core (Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin) and the veteran if mercurial presence of Manny Ramirez. Phillies were even more confident, defending champs with Cliff Lee joining Hamels in the rotation.

Utley and Howard mashed, the Phillies bullpen locked things down, and the Dodgers just couldn’t keep pace. Phillies wrapped it up in five, back-to-back pennants. The last October meeting between these two clubs until now. The Phils went on to lose to the Yankees in the World Series that year, which was the last of the Yankees’ 27 World Series titles.

After 2009, the Phillies dynasty was essentially broken up bit by bit. They had good years in ’10 and ’11, but fell in the playoffs. Then, a decade in the wilderness. Pitchers moved on, hitters retired, bullpen pieces got traded. It wasn’t the same Phillies anymore. It wasn’t until the arrival of Dave Dombrowski as GM in 2021 that the new, high payroll, big slug Phillies emerged. And it seems as if they’ve been on a collision course ever since.

The symmetry of it all

So here we are, 2025. Dodgers vs. Phillies again, NLDS. It seems like this matchup has been brewing for a while, but early exits by one team or the other has denied us. It’s a shame it’s not a best of seven series, but the Brewers put a monkeywrench into that idea by compiling the best record in baseball. So, we will have to be satisfied with a five gamer. History says when these two meet, the victor tends to go all the way to the Fall Classic. Dodgers ruled the late ‘70s. Phillies took control in the early ‘80s and late 2000s.

And now? The matchups feel almost cinematic. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman lining up for the Dodgers. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner for Philadelphia (yep, the former Dodger, just to twist the knife).

It’s more than just another series. It’s another chapter in a story that only seems to surface every couple of decades, but always seems to matter.

Final thought

Baseball people love to say, “The game finds you.” Maybe that’s true for franchises, too. Dodgers and Phillies don’t bump into each other every October, but when they do, something iconic usually happens—sometimes beautiful, sometimes painful.

Starting Saturday night, we get to see which side of history is waiting to be written for the Dodgers.

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