Today is the day! After a seemingly never-ending week of waiting, the Philadelphia Phillies will finally get their 2025 MLB playoffs started. The Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers will take the field at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday for Game 1 of the NLDS, with first pitch at 6:38 p.m. ET.
After announcing the official 26-man NLDS roster earlier today, Phillies manager Rob Thomson has now revealed his starting lineup for Game 1. He also told reporters that left-hander Jesús Luzardo is the Phillies' Game 2 starter, leading to the more surprising revelation that fellow lefty Ranger Suárez will be down in the bullpen and available to pitch in Game 1, per Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
It makes sense, with Games 3 and 4 (if needed) not scheduled until Wednesday and Thursday, there's plenty of time for Suárez ro recover for a start later in the series. The Phillies also have Aaron Nola on the NLDS roster, so he could factor into the starting rotation at some point, especially if Suárez is needed on Saturday.
Jesus Luzardo will be the #Phillies’ Game 2 starter. Ranger Suárez is available out of the bullpen for Game 1, if needed
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) October 4, 2025
Philadelphia Phillies starting lineup for NLDS Game 1
As expected, shortstop Trea Turner is back hitting leadoff after missing most of September with a hamstring injury. Hopefully, he's back to full speed and can be a weapon on the base paths.
Thomson is running out the outfield alignment we saw a lot down the stretch. With Nick Castellanos riding the bench, Max Kepler gets the start in right field, Harrison Bader takes his everyday spot in center and Brandon Marsh will patrol left. Left-hander Blake Snell is lined up to start Game 2 for the Dodgers, so we could see Castellanos back in a starting role on Monday.
- 1. SS Trea Turner (R)
- 2. DH Kyle Schwarber (L)
- 3. 1B Bryce Harper (L)
- 4. 3B Alec Bohm (R)
- 5. LF Brandon Marsh (L)
- 6. C J.T. Realmuto (R)
- 7. RF Max Kepler (L)
- 8. CF Harrison Bader (R)
- 9. 2B Bryson Stott (L)
Locked and loaded#RedOctober pic.twitter.com/iKK26c8i3D
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 4, 2025
Phillies vs. Dodgers starting pitchers for NLDS Game 1
Cristopher Sánchez will take the ball for Game 1 of the NLDS. With Zack Wheeler out for the season, Sánchez claimed the title of staff ace in August and ran with it. The lefty had a career season posting a 31-5 record with a 2.50 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and 212 strikeouts in 202 innings.
Shohei Ohtani will counter for the Dodgers. After avoiding having to pitch in Game 3 of the Wild Card, the right-hander will make his first career postseason start in the NLDS. He returned to the mound in June and slowly built up. Ohtani dominated the Phillies on Sept. 16 with five no-hit innings.
How to watch Phillies vs. Dodgers NLDS Game 1
Fans can catch Game 1 of the NLDS nationally on TBS, truTV and HBO Max. It's also available on MLB.TV in the US and internationally, except in Canada. Sportsnet will carry every postseason game in English North of the border, while TVA Sports and RDS are covering the postseason in French.