Potential Playoff Matchup: Dodgers vs. Phillies Series Preview, July 20-22

The second half of July is upon us, the Phillies are officially 100 games into the 2026 MLB season, and the toughest part of their schedule continues as they enter the thick of the second half of the summer.

At 55-45, the Phillies currently sit as the No. 2 Wild Card team in the National League, with a date with the top record in the entire MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on tap for this week in South Philly. This year, the Phillies have struggled against top talent in matchups, losing all but one series this year to teams currently in first place in their division, the sole series win coming against the Chicago White Sox.

Against the National League leaders, the Brewers, Dodgers, and Braves, the Phillies are 3-9. Atlanta holds a heavy hand in that record, winning five of the first six games, while Milwaukee and Los Angeles both went 2-1 in series in their home ballparks.

The Phillies will see the Braves and Brewers again, but the time to face the back-to-back defending chances in thier turf is now. The Dodgers have gone through a struggle patch over the last few weeks, similar to Philadelphia, but they remain heavily in front of the MLB best record lead. With their home fans behind them and two primetime matchups set, the Phillies will look to pull off a huge series victory over last season’s playoff opponent.

Getting Back On Track

The Phillies’ first series following the All-Star break was not good. They lost two of three games at home to their rivals, the New York Mets, falling to a three-game deficit to the Atlanta Braves in the National League East race.

The Mets are the worst team, record-wise, the Phillies will play over the next month, as they have series against multiple teams vying for playoff spots in the National and American Leagues. Losing a home series against teams you should be beating isn’t the best thing for a team trying to stack wins over the final two and a half months of the season.

Thankfully, for the Phillies, their top brass are starting the first two games of this series, with Cristopher Sanchez on the bump for the opener and Zack Wheeler set for Game 2. While Aaron Nola closes things out on Wednesday, picking up wins with their best two arms on the bump should be the Phillies’ priority to get back on track.

No Shohei The Pitcher

The big issue right now for the Dodgers seems to be their lack of starting pitching depth, as Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have been out for an extended period of time, and it was announced that two-way phenomenon Shohei Ohtani will move out of the Dodgers’ rotation for the foreseeable future.

While they still have all-stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Justin Wrobleski, as well as Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers are currently in a bind with who will start two of these games against Philly, as only Sheehan is scheduled to start.

Othani was in line to start Wednesday night’s game against Nola, but now that spot, as well as Tuesday’s game due to the Dodgers playing a doubleheader Sunday in New York, are wide open and need to be filled by likely spot starters. With the Phillies studs being lined up for this series, taking advantage of the Dodgers’ empty starter spots is a key to picking up early runs and turning them into early wins.

No Show Showman

While the entire Phillies offense hasn’t been the best over July, the real glaring hole has been in their first baseman, Bryce Harper. In July, Harper is batting just .157 over his 14 starts, totaling just eight hits, as well as driving in only five RBIs and striking out 19 times.

Harper has yet to homer this month, and due to that, his OPS has dropped all the way from .908 when he entered July to .853. His average has also dropped 20 points, his strikeout total is nearly 90 on the season, and the rest of the middle of the order has suffered as well because their power bat hasn’t produced.

Now, blaming just Harper for the Phillies’ offensive struggles over the past couple of weeks would be harsh, as fellow All-Star Brandon Marsh‘s average continues to drop game after game, and Trea Turner continues to have a disastrous year at the plate. The thing this team does a lot is ride their top guys when they’re going through a dry patch, but right now, nobody is filling that role.

Harper doesn’t have to be that guy, but he, Turner, and Kyle Schwarber are paid to be those heavy hitters at the top of the order, and right now, none of those guys are doing it. The Dodgers and Yankees, the next two Phillies opponents, lean heavily into that strategy as well, so we’ll see which group comes out victorious when the smoke clears.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Monday, July 20th, 7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN, 94.1 WIP

Tuesday, July 21st, 6:40 p.m. ET, TBS, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Wednesday, July 22nd, 6:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Cristopher Sanchez (LHP, 11-4, 2.62 ERA) vs. Emmet Sheehan (RHP, 4-6, 4.81 ERA)

Game 2: Zack Wheeler (RHP, 10-1, 2.13 ERA) vs. TBD

Game 3: Aaron Nola (RHP, 3-7, 5.68 ERA) vs. TBD

By the Numbers

• Record
  • Phillies: 55-45
  • Dodgers: 63-37
• Run Differential
  • Phillies: -13
  • Dodgers: 155
• Runs Per Game
  • Phillies: 4.32
  • Dodgers: 5.17
• Runs Allowed Per Game
  • Phillies: 4.45
  • Dodgers: 3.62

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