Can the Phillies make it to the World Series?
If the Phillies make it past Atlanta, they'll likely face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. That is unless the NL West champions get upset by the Milwaukee Brewers or Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Phillies went 2-4 against the Dodgers this season. While Trea Turner and his new teammates will be the underdogs in the eyes of many observers, if they've made it to the NLCS, they'll have that special Philadelphia postseason mojo on their side, like during last year's magical run.
Los Angeles, with their veteran stars and complementary youngsters, yet again finished with one of the top offenses in baseball. They had the second-best team wOBA (.341) and third-highest wRC+ (116).
However, there's reason to believe the Phillies can keep up at the plate. They weren't far behind the Dodgers with a .329 wOBA and 105 wRC+. If you look at the last two months of the season, the teams finished with an identical 121 wRC+, the fourth-highest mark in the majors.
They're also evenly matched on the mound. Philadelphia's pitching staff heads into the playoffs with a 4.02 ERA and a .304 wOBA against, while the Dodgers staff holds a 4.06 ERA and identical .304 wOBA.
This series could go either way, and with a win, the Phillies would find themselves in the Fall Classic for a second straight year.
At this point, it's hard to predict who the Phillies would face in the World Series, let alone if they could beat them. However, if there's one thing we've learned about this ball club over the past couple of seasons, their resiliency and toughness are unwavering no matter how challenging the path gets.
If they can get past the Braves in the second round, there's a real chance the Philadelphia Phillies could be celebrating a World Series victory.