Three teams in the National League have achieved 100 or more wins this season, but the Phillies and Padres finish second with 87 and 89 wins.
Both teams heated up with perfect timing to win on the road in the wildcard round and beat the division winners in the division series. And now they will face off in his NLCS starting Tuesday night at 8:03 ET at Petco Park. .
Padres ace, Yu Darvish started. The Phillies will start Zach Wheeler, then Aaron Nola, in his first two games of the best-of-seven series.
Darvish played against the Phillies this season in Philadelphia in mid-May and in San Diego in late June. He first pitched seven scoreless innings to beat them out, then allowed three runs in six innings, then allowed nine strikeouts.
The Phillies went on to win the series with Darvish making his second start off San Diego the day after Bryce Harper broke his thumb on a Blake Snell fastball. At the time, it looked like Harper’s injury could derail the Phils’ season, but they finished 32-20 with him in the games he missed.
Things have changed a lot for the team since the last series ended on June 26th. Didi Gregorius was in the cleanup spot and Odubel Herrera finished sixth against Darvish that day. A third of his Padres at-bats went to players who were no longer on the roster.
The Padres are the league’s most active team and are nearing the trade deadline with the acquisition of Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Nationals, Josh Hader from the Brewers and Brandon Drury from the Reds. A rich lineup of hitters who can hit from any spot.
Starting the NLCS with the Phillies is a different look, as they faced three left-handed starters Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw, and Tyler Anderson in the series against the Dodgers.
This could be San Diego’s Game 1 lineup.
1. Jurrickson Plofer, LF (S)
2. Juan Soto, RF (left)
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Josh Bell, DH (S)
5. Jake Cronenworth, 2B (L)
6. Brandon Drury, 1B
7. Hasung Kim, SS
8. Trent Grisham, CF (left)
9. Austin Nora, C
184 batting average in the regular season, was the Padres’ hottest hitter in the playoffs. He hit three homers in his 8-for-21 at-bat (.389) and has been on base in 14 of 27 at-bats. Nola also took damage from the bottom, and two sets of doubles put him 8-for-21.
Bell, Drury, Kim and Will Myers combined 11-for-83 (.133) with 34 strikeouts.
Hader has gone scoreless in four playoff appearances. He had only 2 of his 15 hitters on base and had 7 strikeouts. His one of many unlikely late comebacks for the Phillies was against Hader on June 7 when Hader was still with the Brewers. Alec Bohm and Matt Biering took him deep in the first two earned runs of the season.
It was the start of an almost three-month stretch in which Hader allowed 28 runs and eight home runs in 21 innings with a 12.00 ERA. 362 for that span. He was traded to the Padres during that time, but didn’t rebound until the final weeks of the regular season.
San Diego’s most frequently used reliever in the postseason to date was rookie right-hander Robert Suarez, who had a 2.27 ERA during the regular season. He shut out six innings in the playoffs. Like Hader, his fastball averages 98 mph. Suárez has beaten lefties with an above-average changeup, and lefties only hit .181 without a home run. Most teams use left-handed relief in the second half of the game to face Kyle Schwarber or Bryce Harper, but the Padres could use Suarez in such places in the eighth inning. has faced Freddie Freeman and Cody Bellinger twice each in his NLDS, and has also faced Max Muncy and Jeff McNeill in the past week.
Tim Hill has a left-handed specialist who has faced Schwalber and Harper once each, retiring Schwalber and walking Harper. He doesn’t miss many bats.
In the rotation, the Padres could start left-handed Sean Manaira over right-handed Mike Clevinger. Manaea finished the regular season roughly and has not started in these playoffs, while Clevinger has made one start against the Dodgers.
After Darvish, lefty Blake Snell will start Game 2 and Joe Musgrove will pitch Game 3 on regular rest.
The Phillies hit Musgrove hard on June 23rd. In his starting lineup against the Phils in August 2021, he struck out and allowed one run in his 9-for-6.
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