Harrison Bader Out of Phillies’ Game 2 Lineup, Look for Bounce-Back After Disheartening Game 1 Loss

Game one did not go as planned for the Phillies.

When J.T. Realmuto became the third-oldest catcher to hit a triple in the history of postseason baseball, things were looking up for the Phillies. Harrison Bader added on with a sac fly, and Phillies’ southpaw Christopher Sanchez cruised into the sixth inning with a 3-0 lead.

Not long after, the Phillies found themselves in quite a different situation. Trailing by two after the seventh inning, the tide had turned completely. We could spend hours trying to pinpoint blame for the Phillies’ game-one loss, but now, the Phillies have a bigger, more important task on their hands: capturing game two before heading west into Dodgers territory.

The Phillies will be facing lefty Blake Snell, who had a short but very productive season for the Dodgers. In 11 starts, Snell threw 61.1 innings, struck out 72 batters, and posted a 2.35 ERA.

Snell faced the Phillies in Los Angeles just a few weeks ago and chucked seven scoreless innings while striking out 12 batters. In the Wild Card series, Snell had another impressive outing, going seven innings and allowing just two runs, helping to give the Dodgers an early advantage in their series against the Reds.

Here is how the Phillies will line up against Snell and the Dodgers:

1. SS Trea Turner
2. DH Kyle Schwarber
3. 1B Bryce Harper
4. 3B Alec Bohm
5. C J.T. Realmuto
6. RF Nick Castellanos
7. 2B Edmundo Sosa
8. CF Brandon Marsh
9. LF Otto Kemp

You’ll notice that the Phillies are rolling out a righty-heavy lineup for game two, hoping to take advantage of the Dodgers’ lefty starter. Bader is also sitting after sustaining a groin injury in game one, and it is still to be determined whether he will be put on the injured list. He cannot run at 100% as of Monday morning, but placing him on the IL makes him ineligible for the NLCS if the Phillies advance.

Jesus Luzardo, who has had an up-and-down season for the Phillies in 2025, gets the ball for the Phils. Luzardo finished the year with a 15-7 record and 3.92 ERA, striking out 216 batters.

Luzardo’s most recent start against the Dodgers did not go exactly as planned, as he allowed four runs in seven innings of work. However, many of the Dodgers’ top hitters have struggled historically against Luzardo. Mookie Betts is 2 for 14 against him, Shohei Ohtani is 2 for 14 with two home runs, and Freddie Freeman is 4 for 11 with a homer. The Dodgers, as a whole, are 23 for 103 (.223) off of Luzardo with a .266 OBP and .684 OPS.

With the Phillies behind in the series, Rob Thomson confirmed before the game that Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez will both be available out of the bullpen, as winning game two is a necessity in staying alive in this series.

“We’ll use Ranger out of the bullpen tonight in leverage,” Thomson said pregame. “He’s available. I could use him at any point.”

Here is the starting nine for the Dodgers in game two:

1. DH Shohei Ohtani
2. SS Mookie Betts
3. RF Teoscar Hernandez
4. 1B Freddie Freeman
5. 2B Tommy Edman
6. LF Enrique Hernandez
7. 3B Miguel Rojas
8. CF Andy Pages
9. C Ben Rortvedt

First pitch is at 6:08 p.m. ET from Citizens Bank Park on TBS. Don’t miss our pregame show, powered by FOCO, at 5:00 p.m. ET:

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