The Philadelphia Phillies are counting down the days until they can pop the champagne for another well-earned division title. Postseason games are right around the corner, which means their toughest baseball is yet to come, with hopefully more to celebrate (subscription required). It also means the Phillies could finally welcome in the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers on the path to a World Series appearance.
The reigning 2024 World Series champ Dodgers are poised for another title run, and that could be a potential problem for Phillies fans. The Dodgers may not look as strong as they did last year, but they are the biggest threat to the Phillies hoisting the commissioner's trophy at the end of October. They have the resources, the money and all the motivation to continue winning.
The Phillies and Dodgers are on a collision course for an exciting postseason matchup
Since they revived Red October at Citizens Bank Park in 2022, the Phillies have faced off in the postseason with NL West teams like the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, but never the Dodgers. It's surprising that it's worked out that way so far, but it could also be setting up a rude awakening. The Phillies have fared well over the last two regular seasons against the Dodgers, with a combined record of 7-2. Perhaps they can again channel that small sample in a postseason battle. Still, the Dodgers are one of the best teams in baseball, and everything gets amplified in October.
If anyone can match the pitching staff that the Phillies have, it's the Dodgers, a team with the talent to go with a solid rotation with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, and even the returning Shohei Ohtani come October.
Speaking of Ohtani, regardless of how LA's offense has performed at times, they still have multiple former MVPs in their lineup like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and the aforementioned likely MVP. Against the Phillies in their careers, Freeman has a career .295 average in 213 games, Betts has a career .359 average in 51 games, and Ohtani has a .232 average in 15 games.
The Dodgers showed what can happen when they put it all together last year when they bulldozed their way through the National League. The Phillies have had their moments against other juggernaut teams, but this Dodgers team is different. They have a lot of veteran leadership that has been there many times before. The Phillies have that leadership too, but they will have to play near perfect baseball in order to triumph head-to-head. Whether in a shortened series or an NLCS matchup, the Dodgers have the star power. Let's just hope the Phillies prove that they're the better and more prepared team if the time comes. The Phillies want it more. Now they just have to prove it, with only weeks to go.