Phillies Opposition Roadblock: Los Angeles Dodgers
The Phillies are starting to open some eyes across baseball. After a 5-0 homestand, they hit the West Coast in hopes to continue their winning ways. It may not be as easy as it has been over the last week.
The Phillies have won six in a row and are in sole possession of second place. Yes, you can re-read it if you want. And honestly, I do not think this team is overachieving, but that is an article for another day.
As of now, the focus needs to be placed on the next seven games. The first three of which begin on the West Coast against the Los Angeles Dodgers. First, we will take a look back at how that handled the previous roadblocks.
Giancarlo Stanton has not really had much luck recently against the Phillies. However, he was off to a good start in 2017, and I thought he deserved a look as our next opposition roadblock. The Phils handled him once again though. He was 1-7 with a run, a double, and two strikeouts over the two games. Phillies pitchers were able to contain the big righty and their successes enabled a two-game series sweep.
Phils Grade: A+
Edinson Volquez is the type of veteran who I thought could slow the roll of the Phillies offense. And, in ways, he did. They did not have the power surge they had the night previous. Over 5.2 innings, Volquez allowed six hits, four walks, and three runs (two earned). He was effective when he needed to be, but the Phils were able to scratch out enough off the scrappy righty to earn the win. Brock Stassi laced a triple that scored Michael Saunders and would end up being the winning run.
Phils Grade: A
The Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
The trips out toward the Pacific Ocean are never fun. They can mess with a team’s momentum and a fan’s sleep schedule. After the Phils have taken six straight wins from within the division, they are taking the six-hour journey to the City of Angels for a weekend series against one of the preseason NL favorites.
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The Dodgers come into the series one game under .500 at 11-12, which puts them in third place (3.5 games out of first). They are a team with a bunch of talent, but the offense can be handled if a few players are controlled. Corey Seager and Joc Pederson give the team the excitement for the future, and Yasiel Puig continues to baffle LA fans, while Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner provide the veteran presence in the lineup.
We all know about Clayton Kershaw but thankfully will not have to deal with him this weekend. The Phils will be faced with the task of continuing their offensive explosion against Kenta Maeda, Brandon McCarthy, and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
None of these three have been exceptional thus far, but solid enough to at least have the ability to bring the Phillies back to Earth.
It could be a very exciting weekend if the Phils find a way to control a couple of tough Dodger customers.
The Position Player: Corey Seager
While the Dodgers present the veteran matchup issues for the Phillies with players like Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Utley, Justin Turner, and even Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers largest threat is a 23-year-old North Carolina native. Corey Seager is perhaps the best young player in baseball, and not many people are aware of just how good he is because of his playing out west.
So far this season, Seager is leading the Dodgers in slugging (.565), homers (5), RBI (17), and OWAR (1.1). He is second in hits (27), average (.318), and on-base percentage (.398). He steadily finds himself slotted in the two-hole on a nightly basis and has been able to find success in that spot early in his career.
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In a very small sample size against the Phillies (6 games), he has slashed .448/.448/.759, has mashed three homers, and driven in 6 runs. And at Dodger Stadium, he has been extremely consistent, hitting to the tune of .321/.381/.569 with 22 round-trippers. Obviously, his offense is a legitimate threat to Jerad Eickhoff, Zach Eflin, and Nick Pivetta, who is making his first start Sunday afternoon.
They will look to attack him up and in the zone with fastballs. Anything left out over the plate will more than likely result in a hit. They may have more luck with off-speed and breaking stuff. He has struggled early on this year with breaking pitches in the zone. Jerad Eickhoff and Zach Eflin will more than likely attack him with their plus breaking pitches in order to keep him off balance.
If the Phillies are able to keep the young shortstop under control, they will have a much better chance to pull off another series win.
The Pitcher: Brandon McCarthy
With Kenta Maeda and Hyun-Ji Ryu not off to career-defining starts, McCarthy is more than likely going to be the pitcher the Phillies are looking to beat this weekend. They will face him on Saturday night. And McCarthy is off to a very nice start in 2017.
He is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 22 strikeouts over 24 innings. He has yet to give up more than two earned runs in starts against the division-leading Diamondbacks on two occasions and the defending World Champion Chicago Cubs.
He has only had two starts against the Phillies over the course of his 11-year career. The numbers are skewed as a result. Instead, let’s focus on his numbers in Dodger Stadium, which includes a 2.80 ERA, a .237 batting average against, and a 5-1 record.
McCarthy has added a changeup to his repertoire in 2017 and it seems to have made a significant difference in his success. As long as he stays healthy, his five-pitch arsenal could be a major piece to the success of the Dodgers this season.
Next: Joely Rodriguez Bouncing Back From Rough Start
The Phillies will have to find a way to get to his fastball early in counts. They have done an incredible job of working into fastball counts over the last week, so if they can continue that trend against McCarthy who is not necessarily a hard thrower (he mostly sits in the low to mid-90s), they should be able to scratch out a victory.