A pair of division leaders will be in playoff mode this week as the Philadelphia Phillies visit the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series that starts Monday.
The Milwaukee Brewers lead the National League with a 91-59 record, while the Phillies are the next-best division leader at 89-61. The Dodgers have the third-best record among division leaders at 84-65, 4 1/2 games behind Philadelphia.
The top two teams in each league get a bye through the wild-card round, with the third team from that list forced to play an extra round in the playoffs.
Adding to the atmosphere this week is that the Phillies will clinch the NL East title with their next victory.
The Dodgers gained a game on the Phillies on Sunday with a 10-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Philadelphia saw a six-game winning streak come to an end Sunday with a 10-3 home loss to the Kansas City Royals but clinched its fourth consecutive playoff berth when the Dodgers defeated the Giants.
On Aug. 27, the Dodgers were a half-game better than the Phillies for second-best record among division leaders, but Philadelphia went on a 13-3 run to take a solid hold of that second spot.
“They’re big,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of this week’s games at Los Angeles. “You have the bye that’s involved and they’re a good club. We’re going to their place, which is going to be raucous, so it’s going to be a big series.”
While the Phillies will send left-hander Ranger Suarez (12-6, 2.77 ERA) to the mound Monday, the Dodgers will counter with right-hander Emmet Sheehan (6-3, 3.32).
Suarez has been in elite form over his last four starts, going 3-0 with a 0.38 ERA over 24 innings. He gave up just one hit over six scoreless innings and had a season-best 12 strikeouts in a win last Tuesday over the New York Mets.
He is 3-2 with a 3.42 ERA in 23 2/3 innings over seven lifetime appearances (four starts) against Los Angeles.
While the Dodgers’ pitching took center stage with a pair of near no-hitters over the past week, the offense came to life over the weekend. The Dodgers had at least 17 hits in victories Saturday and Sunday at San Francisco, the first time with that many in back-to-back games since late April.
“I think it was intent, quality of at-bat, winning pitches, using the whole field, not (striking out),” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the offense. “I think that all of these things, you know it’s in there. We’ve seen it (but) maybe not with the consistency we’ve liked. … To see us do what we did is certainly encouraging.”
Los Angeles third baseman Max Muncy did not play Sunday after he was hit in the back of the helmet by a pitch Saturday. Roberts said his left-handed hitter will take off one of the games against the Phillies, who plan to start three lefties.
The Dodgers have won six of their last seven games while outscoring their opponents 48-19, including Sunday’s 10-2 victory.
Sheehan was not expected to be a part of a postseason rotation, but the 25-year-old is making a case for himself by delivering a 1.45 ERA over his last three starts. He opened his most recent start last Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies with five perfect innings.
Sheehan, who missed the entire 2024 season after Tommy John surgery, has never faced the Phillies.
–Field Level Media
