Phillies vs. Dodgers: Red October meets the Hollywood Hype

Citizens Bank Park is about to host the playoff series we’ve been waiting on for years. The Phillies, defending champs of October chaos, meet the Dodgers, baseball’s corporate juggernaut, in the NLDS.

Game 1 will have Cristopher Sánchez vs. Shohei Ohtani on the mound, which all things considered, is certified heavyweight stuff right out of the gates.

Here’s the official NLDS roster for the Philadelphia Phillies

Game 1: Sánchez vs. Ohtani

Cristopher Sánchez was one of the nastiest arms in baseball this year (13–5, 2.50 ERA, 200+ strikeouts, sub-2.00 ERA at home).

To be clear, that’s not “good for a back-end guy.” That’s ace-level filth.

Ohtani, meanwhile, finally makes his postseason pitching debut after eight years of “will he, won’t he.” The guy just casually hit 55 bombs while stretching out on the mound again. Philly fans don’t care about the backstory. Ohtani is marked as the first hurdle on the way back to the pennant.

The Dodgers: Loaded but not flawless

The Dodgers led the NL in basically every offensive category: runs, bombs, OPS. Ohtani, Freeman, Betts—three MVPs in the heart of the lineup. Sprinkle in Will Smith, Teoscar Hernández, Max Muncy, and it’s an All-Star Game in Dodger blue.

Their pitching is middle of the pack. They lead MLB in strikeouts per nine, sure, but this isn’t the 2017 Dodgers machine. Their bullpen is duct tape and hope, posting a 5.08 ERA in September.

All things Phillies and Red October here >>

The Blueprint: Beat the stars, bury the rest

L.A.’s top four are going to get theirs. Last October, they carried the offense while the bottom five hitters swung pool noodles. The Phillies can’t let the Dodgers’ role players suddenly turn into playoff heroes—attack hitters 5 through 9 and keep them quiet.

Also, no free passes. The Dodgers led the league in walk rate. Phillies pitchers ranked second-best at avoiding them. Stay ahead in the count, keep Ohtani hitting with two strikes instead of 2–0, and this thing tips Philly’s way.

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Philly’s Edge: The bullpen and the Bank

The Phillies went 4–2 against L.A. this year, and when they cracked that bullpen, the series flipped. Citizens Bank Park is a graveyard for shaky relievers. Ask Atlanta. Ask Miami. Ask anyone dumb enough to wander in here in October.

Rob Thomson’s got the deepest ‘pen he’s ever had, anchored by Jhoan Duran and a trio of lefties (Sánchez, Ranger, Luzardo) who love shoving against power lineups. This team doesn’t need to be perfect—just drag the Dodgers into the later innings and watch them drown.

X-Factors

• Dodgers: Roki Sasaki. The kid throws fire and just might be Dave Roberts’ secret weapon to stabilize the bullpen.
• Phillies: Nick Castellanos. It feels like every postseason run comes with a couple loud swings from him. If this is his last October in Philly, he’s going to try to go out guns blazing.

Whatever It Takes

The Phillies haven’t faced the Dodgers in October since 2009, when Utley, Rollins, and Co. stomped their Hollywood dreams en route to the World Series. Different names now, same mission.

This is a clash of baseball’s two heavyweights. Whoever wins is probably winning the whole damn thing. This series doesn’t belong to the team with the flashiest roster—it belongs to the one that makes pitchers walk off the mound in front of 46,000 maniacs in red.

Prediction: Phillies in 5. Red October rolls.

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