Phillies fans, like their counterparts across the baseball world, are often discouraged by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team that bounced the Phils last October in heartbreaking fashion is coming off of back-to-back World Series victories and has put together one of the most talented rosters ever assembled. It’s easy to think of the Dodgers as an unbeatable juggernaut that is certain to knock off the Phillies once more this postseason, but some recent bad luck is exposing cracks in their armor.
Andy Pages has been with the Dodgers since early in the 2024 season and has earned himself a reputation as a power-hitting center fielder with one of the best gloves in the game. The Cuban-born Pages has put together a .265/.319/.445 slash line across 1,617 career plate appearances, and has been even better this year with a .272/.338/.458 mark, earning the 25-year-old his first All-Star selection.
Unfortunately, that breakout campaign has been put on hold for at least a month, as Pages was diagnosed with a fracture in his left hand on Friday night. An errant pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler in the third inning is set to keep Pages off the field for the next four weeks at a minimum.
That was brutal news for a Dodgers team that was already reeling from injuries. Their fantastic catching tandem of Will Smith and Dalton Rushing are both on the shelf with no return date set, while All-Star hurlers Tyler Glasnow, Justin Wrobleski, Edwin Díaz and Blake Treinen are dealing with maladies of their own.
Health issues aren’t the only problems the Dodgers are facing, as former MVP Mookie Betts has posted just a .706 OPS as the club’s everyday shortstop, as has two-time All-Star outfielder Teoscar Hernández (who Phillies fans should remember from his horrifying defense last October). Perhaps worst of all has been record-setting free agent acquisition Kyle Tucker, who has just a .690 OPS to his name and a pathetic 0.0 bWAR across 121 contests.
The Dodgers are still fearsome, but now they're vulnerable vs. Phillies
So what does all this Dodgers misery mean for the Phillies? Simple: they’re vulnerable. Between Betts, Hernández, Tucker, the catching position, and losing Pages, the Dodgers’ lineup now has quite a few holes in it. Injuries to the rotation depth that they used so effectively as an ad hoc relief corps last year has thinned out the herd, while their offseason addition of Díaz has yet to bear any fruit.
Just to be clear, the Dodgers are still quite dangerous. Even in their diminished state they carry a 78-51 record on the year, good for a 9.0 game lead in the National League West. They still employ future Hall of Famers Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani at the peaks of their powers, alongside Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and rejuvenated closer Tanner Scott. Even with their flaws, the Dodgers are still heavy favorites to take home their third consecutive championship.
However, their misfortune has widened the aperture for other teams looking to topple them. The Phillies went toe-to-toe with them in last year’s divisional round, losing in four games on a little league error. The Toronto Blue Jays came mere inches away from walking them off in Game 7 of the World Series after holding a lead in the ninth themselves.
As any Tolkien reader knows, even the most powerful dragon can be slain with one perfectly aimed shot. It won’t be easy, but if the Phillies can play their best baseball at the right time of year and exploit the Dodgers’ newfound weaknesses, they may be able to vanquish their own Smaug.
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