After taking two of three from the Giants in San Francisco and hopefully finding their offensive fire power in the process, the Dodgers return home to take on the Philadelphia Phillies in what could be a NLDS preview.
The Phillies currently are four games in front of the Dodgers for the second-best record in the NL and it seems unlikely that the Dodgers will catch them. As it stands right now, the Dodgers have the three slot for the playoffs and would have to face the sixth-place team, which currently is
the New York Mets.
When the Dodgers were in Philly in early April, they only took one from the Phillies. All the games were close, with two games being decided by just one run.
Some things have changed since that series, like starter Roki Sasaki no longer being a starter, and Micheal Conforto having a .276 batting average. Some haven’t, like Blake Treinen blowing the lead.
The series begin Monday with a tough test for the Dodgers offense that really got going in San Francisco. They will face Ranger Suarez, who is 12-6 on the season with a tidy 2.77 ERA. He’s on a hot streak, going 4-0 in his last five starts and a 0.88 ERA.
Historically, Suarez has a mid-3 ERA against the Dodgers, leaning on his sinker, change, and cutter. Mookie Betts, Alex Call, and Freddie Freeman have all seen Suarez well in past at bats, with both Betts and Freeman having OPS over 1.000 against him. Shohei Ohtani has never faced him before.
As far as the Phillies offense goes, the Dodgers have to contend with the big boys. Kyle Schwarber leads all of the majors with 127 RBI and is second in homers with 52. The Phillies as a team are second-best in the majors in team batting average, .261. Trea Turner is always a threat on the bases, and Bryce Harper, while in a slump as of late, is always a threat to be Bryce Harper.
Emmet Sheehan will take the mound for the Dodgers, and he has not faced anyone in the Phillies lineup before.
This series could be a good indicator of how the Dodgers will do in the playoffs. Taking the series from the Phillies would be great for confidence having to face them again in a few weeks, if they survive the Wild Card round. They are facing three straight lefties, which the Dodgers have been hitting well. As a team they are second in homers and 4th in OPS against southpaws.
The Dodgers offense needs to stay hot, and Sheehan needs to unleash his whiff rate on the Phillies offense. The Dodgers can beat this Phillies team, the question is which version of the Dodgers will show up for this Phillies series.
