When the Philadelphia Phillies finished up their wildly successful homestand last week and headed out to the West Coast, we figured they'd be in for a fight against another top National League contender. The Los Angeles Dodgers did put up a fight in the three-game series, blanking the Phillies 5-0 in the finale on Wednesday, but the Fightins made a massively powerful statement during their series win over the NL West leaders.
Sure, the Dodgers' starting pitchers did their jobs in dominating fashion, but the Phillies exposed Los Angeles' biggest weakness and you can be sure every other playoff contender will take notice. Phillies hitters feasted on a leaky Dodgers bullpen in the first two games of the series, which included Monday's NL East-clinching win.
Phillies pummel Dodgers' bullpen in big series win
In the 6-5 division-clinching win, they scored all six of their runs against bullpen arms (kind of). It was a curious decision by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to use left-hander Anthony Banda as an opener, a point proven by Kyle Schwarber's first-inning home run, his 53rd of the season.
Emmet Sheehan, usually a starter, was technically a reliever on Monday and went 5 2/3 innings with one run charged to him after he left the game. The Dodgers bullpen allowed the Phillies to come back from a 3-1 deficit and take the lead in the seventh, eighth and 10th innings.
In Tuesday's 9-6 win, Shohei Ohtani baffled the Phillies over five no-hit innings but as soon as he left the game, the LA bullpen faceplanted. Reliever Justin Wrobleski gave up five runs on five consecutive hits in the sixth, including Brandon Marsh's three-run homer. Edgardo Henriquez added a solo home run off the bat of Max Kepler to cap the six-run frame.
Then the big blast came off veteran Blake Treinen in the ninth inning when seldom-used backup catcher Rafael Marchán roped a three-run home run into the right field corner to seal the victory.
WE'RE MARCHÁN BACK OUT IN FRONT pic.twitter.com/y0YsUudrh5
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 17, 2025
Phillies will need to take advantage of Dodgers' bullpen in playoff matchup
It's worth pointing out that the Phillies did this without shortstop Trea Turner and third baseman Alec Bohm, both sidelined with injuries. In fact, the offense has been rolling since losing those two regulars.
Phillies fans have had to endure some challenging bullpen struggles this season — the relief corps still ranks 22nd with a 4.38 ERA. The Dodgers haven't been much better, with a 20th-ranked 4.29 ERA and 22 blown saves (the Phillies have 25).
Los Angeles' bullpen is really going through it this month in particular, with a dreadful 5.65 ERA, which ranks as the seventh-highest in the majors. The Phillies definitely helped pump up that number this week, scoring 14 runs (13 earned) in 15 2/3 innings against Dodgers relievers.
We know that the Dodgers' rotation is one of the deepest and most talented units in the game, and their lineup is among the best. If these two teams meet in the postseason, which is highly possible, the Phillies will have to target the Dodgers' soft underbelly of a bullpen in later innings. At least they showed they can do that this week.