Two wins separated them in the regular season and subsequent wild card race, with only one win separated the Phillies from going to a tiebreaker with the Brewers for the last postseason spot. If it wasn't for the new playoff format and expansion this year, the Phillies wouldn't even be playing October baseball. Yet here we are in the NLCS with the two lowest ranked wild card teams having knocked off all the national league teams with better records. It's safe to say both these teams feel like they have what it takes to win it all.
Bryce Harper, playing in his first postseason in five years, has been a man on a mission. He is making up for his postseason struggles in three of the four trips with the Nationals, a batting average of .211 and OPS of 0.801 (completely carried by his 2014 NLDS breakout of 3 HRs in 4 games), where he lost all four series he played in. After going hitless in his first postseason game with the Phillies, the man possessed had hits in 7 straight games and multiple hits in 5 of them. He has 4 HRs, scored a run in all but one game (8 total), and is completely carrying the Phillies offense on his shoulders with a 0.419 AVG and 1.390 OPS.
Now the Phillies head back home where they dominated the Braves in the NLDS, outscoring them 17-4 behind a home run, two hits, and 2+ RBIs from Harper in each game. After stealing one game on the road from the Padres, Phillies fans are ecstatic knowing they will get three guaranteed home games. If their team can repeat their home performance so far this postseason, the fans may get a chance for a home stadium celebration.
On the other side, the man slated to try to tame that home offensive explosion is Joe Musgrove who has been dynamite so far this postseason. In his two starts against the 101-win Mets and 111-win Dodgers, he's only given up 2 runs and 7 hits in 13 innings. Coming off his first season with a sub 3 ERA, he's pitching the best ball of his career and seems poised for the task.
On the offensive side for the Padres, they are getting contributions from up and down the lineup. From familiar faces, Manny Machado and Josh Bell, to surprise faces such as Trent Grisham and Austin Nola. But if they are going to topple this Phillies team, they need to get a spark from their biggest prize, Juan Soto. Considered the top young hitter in baseball, the Padres gave up a haul to land him at the trade deadline. Since then, he's been nothing but pedestrian. Supporting a .236 batting average and a .778 OPS in the regular season after the trade, and .222 BA, .560 OPS, and no home runs in the postseason, it's been a rough go as a Padre for Soto. In his career, Soto has more or less equivalent numbers on the road as he does at home so these upcoming three games in Philly shouldn't phase him. He will be the key for the Padres as they go on the road to try to bring this series back to San Diego.
If that isn't enough suspense for you, our Props are below to add some additional fun. All have nearly even chances of happening, so anyone can play. Grab some friendly competition and see who can get the most correct!
2 Hits or more combined in the 1st Inning:
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
Team winning after the 5th inning:
[ ] Padres
[ ] Phillies
Bryce Harper to score 1 Run or more:
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
Juan Soto to have 1 Single or more:
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
Manny Machado to have 2 or more Total Bases (from hits only):
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
Phillies Total Runs of 4 or more:
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
Team to win:
[ ] Padres
[ ] Phillies
Tiebreaker: Guess the Total Runs scored by both teams combined, closest to the result wins! (Currently estimated to be around 7)
Photo by Chris6d. Link to license.
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