NLDS Preview: Ohtani & Dodgers Clash with Harper & Phillies with Trip to NLCS on the Line

PHILADELPHIA, PA—October baseball continues for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they’ll head to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to take on the Phillies in the best-of-five National League Division Series.

It’ll be the sixth meeting in October between these historic clubs, their first since they clashed in back-to-back seasons (2008, 2009) in the National League Championship Series.

That’s a sixteen-year gap since their last meeting in the postseason, making it long overdue for two of the National League’s recent powerhouses to meet again. This National League Division Series showcases two teams with the highest payrolls and numerous star players. One of these teams will exit earlier than anyone anticipated, which will add to the intensity and excitement.

While the Dodgers took care of the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card in two games, now they’ll face an even greater task on their quest to become the first team to repeat as World Champions.

The Dodgers’ struggles against the Phillies in recent years are something to keep an eye on.

Since 2022, Los Angeles has had a losing record against the Phillies, going 10-15 in that span and winning only four out of their twelve games played at Citizens Bank Park.

The Dodgers experienced a massive taste of a hostile crowd last October, having to play at Petco Park in San Diego in last year’s NLDS, as well as the NLCS and World Series in New York City. However, make no mistake, the Phillies faithful will be their most challenging task yet.

The Phillies have reached the postseason every year since entering as a Wild Card team in 2022. At home, they are nearly unbeatable, with the most wins by a home team in that period (13-5). However, they have faced difficulties in their last two series there, losing the 2023 NLCS in Game Seven to the Arizona Diamondbacks and dropping Game One last October to the New York Mets.

Still, the Phillies feel more comfortable at home than every team left in the dance, and for good reason.

This season was no different from a regular season success perspective for Philadelphia as they won the season series over the Dodgers four games to two, most recently taking two-of-three at Dodger Stadium back in mid-September.

Regardless, the Dodgers are the defending champions for a reason, so it won’t be an easy task for the No. 2 seed in the National League to roll over them.

The Dodgers have two things going for them entering tomorrow’s matchup: their offense is hot, and their starting pitching has been elite.

Both of these teams are nearly identical across the board. Both teams ranked in the top five in offense this season. They each ranked in the top five in pitching fWAR from their starters. Their payrolls each are atop the Major League leaderboards, and they each have World Series ambitions.

Similarly, the Dodgers and Phillies bullpens may be the most significant issues for both clubs, and they ranked in the bottom third in FIP and ERA this season. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies’ bullpen struggled in September, posting a FIP over four.

Surprisingly, it took until October for these two teams to meet again, considering they have seemed to avoid each other since the 2022 season.

But make no mistake, the winner of this series will likely go on to win the World Series. They are not only the two best teams in the National League (sorry, Brewers), but also two of the top teams in all of baseball.

A short five-game set will be a dog fight, similar to last year’s NLDS clash between the Padres and Dodgers.

Expect this series to go the distance, and each side goes blow for blow.

Game One: Shohei Ohtani (1-1, 2.87 ERA) vs Cristopher Sánchez (LHP) (13-5, 2.50 ERA)

Game Two: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Game Three: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

*Game Four: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

*Game Five: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

*if necessary

Game Times

Game One: Saturday, October 4th, 3:38 PM PT, Citizens Bank Park (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)

Game Two: Monday, October 6th, 3:08 PM PT, Citizens Bank Park (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)

Game Three: Wednesday, October 8th, TBD, Dodger Stadium (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)

*Game Four: Thursday, October 9th, TBD, Dodger Stadium (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)

*Game Five: Saturday, October 11th, TBD, Citizens Bank Park (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)

*if necessary

Who’s in & Who’s Out?

Not much has changed on the injury front for the Dodgers; however, like last series, all eyes will be on All-Star catcher Will Smith, who has been dealing with a right-hand microfracture.

Smith was added to the Dodgers’ Wild Card Series roster, but was limited to a pinch-hit role. While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did say it was possible to put him behind the plate for Game Two, the team opted not to, which ultimately proved not to be a factor due to the elite play on both sides of the ball by Ben Rortvedt.

It’s safe to say the Dodgers will have Will Smith active on the NLDS roster; however, whether he will be able to play defense remains a question, and as of yet, the team has not provided any updates.

I would expect the Dodgers to run with a trio of catchers throughout October as Smith and rookie Dalton Ruhsing would be prefect off the bench, and Rortvedt has done well in his time as the full-time catcher.

Another player to watch for the Dodgers is utilityman Tommy Edman, who was removed from Game One of the Wild Card due to the team monitoring his right ankle injury that has bothered him for most of the season.

Edman was still able to hit a home run in the Dodgers’ opening win, and with the Phillies’ three-headed monster of left-handed starters expected to pitch this series, Edman will be a massive part of the Dodgers’ plan.

However, Dave Roberts said it’s likely Edman will only play exclusively second base this October, meaning Pages will remain as the full-time center fielder as he has for most of the season.

Day-to-day (2): Tommy Edman, Will Smith

10-day Injured List (00):

15-day Injured List (1): Brock Stewart

60-day Injured List (7): Tony Gonsolin, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Evan Phillips

As for the Phillies, they are in a great situation health-wise entering the NLDS, especially with the activation of All-Star shortstop and National League Batting Champion Trea Turner on the regular season finale on Sunday.

Still, the Phillies will be without top relief arm José Alvarado, who was placed on the injured list in September with a left forearm strain, ending his season. However, Alvarado was already postseason ineligible due to being suspended for PEDs earlier this season.

Jordan Romano is expected to be activated off the 15-day injured list after dealing with a finger injury, but due to his underwhelming season and the signing of veteran right-hander David Robinson, it’s unlikely he’ll be on the 26-man roster.

Finally, perhaps the most significant player missing from the Phillies this October is right-handed ace Zack Wheeler, who had his season end due to thoracic outlet depression surgery.

Wheeler has a 2.18 ERA in the postseason in his career and was a massive part of the Phillies’ star-studded rotation.

Day-to-day (00):

10-day Injured List (00):

15-day Injured List (2): Jordan Romano, José Alvarado

60-day Injured List (2): Daniel Robert, Zack Wheeler

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