Red October revival: Phillies, Dodgers NLDS preview originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Red October has touched down once again at Citizens Bank Park.
The Los Angeles Dodgers face the Phillies in the National League Division Series tonight at 6:38 p.m. ET. Grab your popcorn.
Game 1
Cristopher Sánchez (13-5, 2.50 ERA, 32 GS) takes the ball in Game 1, making his third career postseason start. The left-hander put together a masterful 2025, becoming just the third southpaw in Phillies history to post a sub-2.50 ERA with 200-plus innings and 200 strikeouts.
At home, he was even sharper: a 1.94 ERA across 15 starts with 115 punchouts in 97 ⅔ innings.
He’ll be opposed by Shohei Ohtani (1-1, 2.87 ERA, 14 GS), making his long-awaited postseason pitching debut in his eighth big league season. After starting his season in an opener role, Ohtani has recently stretched out — three of his last four starts went five innings or more.
This best-of-five series marks the first Phillies-Dodgers playoff meeting since 2009. The defending champions arrive looking to extend Philadelphia’s 16-year title drought.
Who are the Dodgers, anyway?
Los Angeles finished 93-69, capturing its 12th straight NL West crown. Their offense led the league in runs per game (5.09), homers (244), RBIs (791) and OPS (.768).
At the center of it all: Ohtani, who crushed a career-high and franchise-record 55 homers. He’s all but assured of his fourth MVP in five years.
Around him are two more MVPs — Freddie Freeman, who at 36 still slashed .295/.367/.502, and Mookie Betts, who turned around a sluggish first half (.657 OPS through August 4th) to hit .317 with an .892 OPS during the final stretch.
Will Smith (.901 OPS), Andy Pages (27 HR), Teoscar Hernández (25 HR) and Max Muncy (.846 OPS) round out one of baseball’s deepest lineups.
Their pitching was not as fabulous. The Dodgers sat middle-of-the-pack in ERA and WHIP, but their arms led the MLB in strikeouts per nine (9.40).
On Wednesday, they swept the Reds in the Wild Card Series — their 13th straight Division Series appearance.
The numbers game: How do the Phils beat L.A.?
Obviously, limiting the damage when Ohtani steps in gives the Phillies a great shot, but it’s more complicated than that — and the stats back it up.
Don’t lengthen L.A.’s lineup.
Last October, the Dodgers’ top four hitters carried the load, producing a combined .878 OPS and 16 homers in 16 playoff games. Their 5-9 hitters, meanwhile, hit just .211 with a .653 OPS.
But in this year’s Wild Card round, Cincinnati couldn’t buy an out at the bottom of the order. Dodgers hitters 5-9 combined to hit .400 with three homers and a 1.130 OPS, as Tommy Edman, Enrique Hernández and Miguel Rojas all did damage.
If the Phillies do pitch around the stars, they’ll need to attack the rest of the order or risk the same fate as the Reds.
Limit the free passes.
The Dodgers’ patience is elite: they led the NL with a 9.4% walk rate.
But Phillies pitching may have the answer. Philadelphia ranked second in the league in walks per nine (2.72), and their bullpen issued the fewest free passes (189).
The difference shows in the splits. In hitter’s counts (1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1), L.A. slugged a league-best 75 homers and posted a 1.164 OPS.
Stay ahead, and the Phillies can keep this lineup in check.
Turn the page, sorta.
The Phillies went 4-2 against the Dodgers this season, including a series win in Los Angeles three weeks ago.
But Dodgers starters dominated that set: Emmet Sheehan (followed the opener), Ohtani and Blake Snell combined for 17 ⅔ innings of one-run ball with 24 strikeouts.
Ohtani’s five no-hit frames stood out, but the Phillies still managed to crack LA’s bullpen to take the series.
And that could be key again. Since Sept. 5, Dodgers relievers own the fourth-worst ERA in baseball (5.08) with the most walks allowed (54).
Who are the X-factors?
In many playoff series, there is a player that sticks out more than the rest and oftentimes, it’s someone who flies under the radar.
Dodgers: Roki Sasaki
After missing five months with a shoulder impingement, the 23-year-old flamethrower has been lights out in relief.
In three appearances since returning — including his postseason debut Wednesday — he’s thrown three scoreless innings with six strikeouts.
Whether Dave Roberts keeps him in one-inning bursts or expands his role, Sasaki could be LA’s stopper.
Phillies: Nick Castellanos
Amid outfield rotation questions after the trade deadline, Castellanos looms as a potential difference-maker. He hit .333 with RISP in September and capped the season with a walk-off sac fly.
Since the start of the 2023 postseason, he’s hit six homers with a .594 slugging percentage in 17 games.
Entering what could be his final October in Philadelphia, Castellanos has the chance to add to his legacy.
Final thoughts
Utley, Rollins, Ruiz and Victorino.
What do they all have in common?
They wore Phillies red before donning Dodger blue — and in 2008, they helped take down Los Angeles on the way to the franchise’s second World Series title.
Now it’s 2025, and Philadelphia is still searching for its first championship since.
Many believe the Phillies’ window is closing. With a veteran-heavy roster, they might be right.
Of all the Phillies teams since Rob Thomson took over, this might be the strongest. They’ll miss Zack Wheeler, but the bullpen is deeper than at any point in recent memory.
The Phillies and Dodgers stand as the two heavyweights in The Show, and whoever emerges from this series will be favored to win it all.
Thomson is likely to lean on his trio of lefties — Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo — to challenge L.A.’s lineup. Each has shown poise under the lights before, and they’ll need to do it again in the NLDS.