LOS ANGELES, CA — The No. 3 seeded 93-69 Dodgers, having swept the Reds, 2-0, in their National League Wild Card Series matchup, come to the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ to face the 96-66 NL Eastern Division champion and No. 1 seeded Phillies in the NLDS. There is a good chance that one of these two teams will be in the World Series this year. LA brings a monster lineup but a shaky bullpen to Philadelphia in this showdown in round two of the playoffs.
When we look at the pitching matchups, the numbers favor the Phillies. Or do they? Philadelphia has three starters, all left-handed, and despite their good numbers, they will have to be at their best to keep the powerful Dodgers lineup from scoring a lot of runs. Here are their numbers; Jesús Luzardo, Lima, Peru, 15-7, 3.92 ERA, Cristopher Sánchez, La Romana, Dominican Republic, 13-5, 2.50 ERA, and Ranger Suárez, Pie de Cuesta, Venezuela, at 12-8, 3.20 ERA.
Jesús Luzardo, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez combined to record 40 wins this regular season (Philadelphia finished: 96-66) – Image Credit: Simon Lindenblatt, Bill Menzel and George Napolitano/Latino Sports
The Dodgers starters don’t stack up as well when it comes to numbers, but as we all know, numbers can be deceiving. LA only has two starters with double-digit wins this season—their ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, (12-8, 2.49 ERA) and franchise icon Clayton Kershaw (11-2, 3.36 ERA).
We must understand that, except for Yamamoto, the entire starting core for the Dodgers has either been on the IL for months or has pitched deep into games with a lead, only to have the inconsistent bullpen blow those leads all year. Hence, the low wins and loss records.
The only Dodger pitchers to reach double digits in wins on the 2025 regular season were Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw – Image Credit: Bill Menzel and George Napolitano/Latino Sports
Right now, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and rookie starter Emmet Sheehan have dominated over the past two months.
In the three-game series recently in LA, the Phillies took advantage of implosions by the Dodgers’ relievers to take the first two games. Games where the LA starters took leads deep into games. The Phillies will be eager to take advantage of that again, as the LA bullpen has been awful in the two games they worked in the Wild Card series against the Reds. The only bright spot is rookie Roki Sasaki, who may have found a place on the pitching staff as a possible closer. He has looked that good.
Game 1 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and Phillies is set for this Saturday at Citizens Bank Park with first pitch at 6:38 PM ET – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Both clubs have lineups that can score runs and enough power to blow games open in any inning. I’m not even going to say someone has the edge on offense; the Dodger lineup has more players who can produce runs. But they’d better score six to ten runs, for when their unreliable bullpen comes into the game.
The big stars will undoubtedly do their thing, but I have a gut feeling that Andy Pages from Havana, Cuba, could be the one who could be the difference maker in this NLDS.
That being said, this will be a close series, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes all five games.
Follow us on Social Media for updates and exclusive content
Instagram: @latinosportsoficial
Facebook: Latino Sports
Twitter: @latinosports
