Playoffs Secured, Let’s Go Win A Division — Series Preview: Phillies at Dodgers, September 15-17

With less than two weeks of the regular season left, the Philadelphia Phillies have already secured a spot in the 2025 postseason and are set up to lock up a division title sometime this week. Their magic number is just one. It can be achieved with either a win or a Mets loss, who host the Padres this week for a three-game set starting on Tuesday.

However, before they look towards that, they have business to take care of with a series against the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers.

Heading into 2025, the Dodgers and Phillies were seen as the two likely teams to win the National League pennant and head to the World Series. While the season hasn’t gone exactly how those teams pictured they would, they’re both on the verge of once again winning their respective divisions. And now the only thing left for them to fight for is who gets the other first-round bye in the National League.

The Brewers currently hold the one seed in the National League, and while they have a chance to fall to the three seed, they’ll likely secure one of the two byes. So the other spot will go to either Los Angeles or Philadelphia, and with the two set for a three-game series this week, this series could determine who gets that spot.

The Phillies currently hold a 4.5-game lead over the Dodgers with 12 games to play. The Dodgers have 13 games still to play. At the bare minimum, the Phillies have to win one game; that way, even if they lose the series, the worst they can leave Los Angeles with is a 3.5 game lead with nine games left on the year.

This is a huge series that could heavily affect how the postseason goes for both teams, and while seeding is important, it’s also important for the Phillies to keep rolling as they wind down this long regular season.

A Look At The Dodgers’ Pitching

The Phillies haven’t seen the Dodgers since the second week of the season, and a lot has changed since then for both teams. One major thing is the shakeup of both teams’ pitching staffs. We both acquired new arms and have lost pitchers to injuries, and with just weeks until a potential postseason matchup, it’ll be nice for the Phillies to get a look at some of the arms they haven’t seen before.

The most notable name from the Dodgers that the Phillies will see for the first time this series is the two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani returned to the mound in June after not being able to pitch for nearly two seasons due to a UCL injury he suffered at the end of the 2023 season.

Ohtani has never pitched against Philadelphia and hasn’t faced the majority of the Phillies lineup. The Phillies have been known to not hit pitchers well in their first at-bats against them, and while the regular-season start against Ohtani might not go well, it could help the Phillies down the line in a potential playoff matchup.

On top of that, getting a look at the Dodgers’ bullpen is always nice to see. Guys like Tanner Scott, Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen, and Alex Vesia are the top guys for LA, and making sure that the Phillies can times these guys up is huge.

Keeping The Bats Hot

While Sunday’s loss to Kansas City wasn’t the best offensive performance, the prior five games showed just how great the Phillies’ bats can be when they’re hot. The Phillies scored 18 runs in their series against the Royals and 27 in their series against the Mets, and in four of those seven games, the Phillies scored eight runs or more.

Harrison Bader and Brandon Marsh continued their hot streaks this past week. Bader posted a .485/.500/.667 slash line, recording 16 hits, while Marsh hit .423 over his past seven games, and slugged .808. Kyle Schwarber added three home runs and seven RBIs, while Bryce Harper added two bombs and five RBIs of his own.

Since returning from Triple-A, Otto Kemp has also swung an excellent bat, recording a .375 average and a .750 slugging since getting called back up. The Phillies have been without All-Stars Alec Bohm and Trea Turner this past week, but the Phillies are scoring and swinging the bat like nothing has changed. It’s a great sign, as around this time last year, the Phillies’ bats struggled, and it rolled over into the postseason. Staying hot at the plate is key to making sure that doesn’t happen again this year.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Monday, September 15th, 10:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Tuesday, September 16th, 10:10 p.m. ET, TBS, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Wednesday, September 17th, 10:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Probable Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Ranger Suarez (LHP, 12-6, 2.77 ERA) vs. Emmet Sheehan (RHP, 6-3, 3.32 ERA)

Game 2: Cristopher Sanchez (LHP, 13-5, 2.57 ERA) vs. Shohei Ohtani (RHP, 1-1, 3.75 ERA)

Game 3: Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 14-6, 4.03 ERA) vs. Blake Snell (LHP, 4-4, 2.79 ERA)

By The Numbers

• Records
  • Phillies: 89-61
  • Dodgers: 84-65
• Run Differential
  • Phillies: 125
  • Dodgers: 121
• Runs Scored Per Game
  • Phillies: 4.87
  • Dodgers: 5.08
• Runs Allowed Per Game
  • Phillies: 3.98
  • Dodgers: 4.32

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