The day has finally come as the Arizona Diamondbacks will take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS Game 1 heavyweight matchup.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This is the first time, the Diamondbacks have been back in the NLCS since 2007 when they lost to Colorado Rockies in 4 games.
On this date in 2007, the Colorado Rockies won Game 4 of the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The four-game sweep sent the Rockies to their first and only World Series. pic.twitter.com/7BsaWlcwxw
— Patrick Lyons (@PatrickDLyons) October 15, 2023
This is the first time the Philadelphia Phillies have been to the NLCS since… last season when they defeated the San Diego Padres to advance to the World Series.
BRYCE HARPER HITS A CLUTCH 2-RUN HOME RUN TO PUT THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES UP 4-3 AGAINST THE SAN DIEGO PADRES IN GAME 5 OF THE NLCS!! https://t.co/cNlJ2hTkX3 pic.twitter.com/wYtC3nx2sp
— Evan (@ShadowShell51) October 28, 2022
The Phillies went on to lose to the Houston Astros in the World Series. A team that is currently in the ALCS taking on the Texas Rangers.
This is a series where you have one team trying to get back to the World Series and finally get a ring that they’ve been hoping for and another team that is young and hungry to shock the baseball world.
This is the first time in the franchises’ history that they have both faced off in the playoffs. Here is my preview for each team and what’s at stake for their franchises.
Phillies:
The Phillies have been a powerhouse over the last two seasons and they’re looking to finally get over the hump as they came up two games short against the Astros last season from winning the world series.
In game 1 tonight, the Phillies will have ace Zach Wheeler on the mound who has pitched well so far in the postseason. Wheeler’s ERA is at 2.08 and he’s allowed 8 hits, he has struck out 18 people and has only walked one batter.
The Phillies just got through beating the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS in 4 games in a best of 5 series. The Braves had the best regular season record in the league but were no match for the Phillies in the first round.
A big reason for that is because of Nick Castellanos. He became the first player to have back-to-back multihomer games in the postseason and he has a 1.000 slugging percentage so far in the playoffs.
He’s been so red hot that Castellano’s son Liam couldn’t believe what his father was doing in the playoff series vs. the Braves.
Nick Castellanos playing during a period of global tension and panic is like his own personal steroid era pic.twitter.com/6wHueaGNhD
— B.W. Carlin (@BaileyCarlin) October 13, 2023
And we can’t forget about a guy named Bryce Harper. He’s hitting .368 with an OBP of .538 which are all career highs. In just 4 games, he has hit 3 home runs including this moon shot that has been on replay on Twitter for days.
#Phillies Bryce Harpers' 3-Run Home Run to take the lead in the NLDS vs The #Braves with only Game & Crowd Noise
Chills…😳 pic.twitter.com/RU6xr8CcfH
— SportsCastProductions (@SportsCastProd0) October 12, 2023
Injury Report:
The only significant injury for the Phillies is pitcher Rhys Hoskins as he wasn’t added to the NLCS roster. He is most likely to miss the whole NLCS but if the Phillies were to advance to the World Series, Phillies Manager Rob Thomson said that it would be more likely for him to make a return.
Diamondbacks:
The Diamondbacks have been a surprise team in regards to the National perception this season and have taken the MLB by storm with their fun play.
The Diamondbacks ended the year in a slump but since the postseason started, they haven’t lost a game. They have swept both the Brewers and Dodgers and did so by only playing one home game in both series’ combined. They pose a dangerous threat to a Phillies team that plays well at home as well.
The Diamondbacks will have ace pitcher Zac Gallen on the mound today who took time yesterday during media availability to where a Michael Jordan jersey going back to his routes when he played at North Carolina.
Former UNC star Zac Gallen rocking the Michael Jordan shirt before the NLCS
(via @MLBLife) pic.twitter.com/6qkLbEWfTp
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 16, 2023
So far this postseason, he has an ERA of 3.18. He has given up 10 hits, struck out 8 batters, and has given up 5 walks.
As a team, there are ERA is a staggering 2.20, and have 3 saves in the 5 games they have played while giving up just 38 hits in 45 innings.
A player to look for in this series against the Phillies for the Diamondbacks is Corbin Carrol, Gabriel Moreno, and Christian Walker.
Carrol (1.389 OPS), Moreno (1.107), and Walker (1.023) have all had strong postseasons with an OPS over 1.000. This is an indication of how crazy good their bats have been this postseason and how it seems like no pitcher has been able to slow these guys down.
For statistical purposes, here’s a look at all the starting pitchers who have gone up against the Diamondbacks this postseason and how they have faired against them.
Corbin Burnes: 4+ IP, 4 R, 3 HR
Freddy Peralta: 5+ IP, 4 R, 1 HR
Clayton Kershaw: 1/3 IP, 6 R, 1 HR
Bobby Miller: 1 2/3 IP, 3 R
Lance Lynn: 2 2/3 IP, 4 R, 4 HR
In just their last game vs. the Diamondbacks against Lynn, all 4 of their home runs came in one inning. Which ended up being a postseason record for most home runs in a single inning by one team.
4 home runs. In ONE inning. In the playoffs. Vs the Dodgers. Diamondbacks have been real fun to watch so farpic.twitter.com/xIMZ7gArsy
— Angrier Cole (@angry_gcole) October 12, 2023
Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Aaron Nola has been taking notice of the Diamondbacks and knows it will be a dogfight this series.
“(The D-Backs) are a good team.” Says Nola. “They’re hot right now, and it’s going to be a dogfight for sure.”
As much as the Diamondbacks are making it look like this isn’t their first long playoff stretch, the only player on the team that has been to the championship series is none other than Evan Longoria when he was on the 2008 Rays team that went to the World Series.
Injury Report:
The only player that is hurt for the Diamondbacks on paper is catcher Gabriel Moreno who got hit in the right hand by a foul ball tip in Game 3 of the NLDS. However, it seems like he won’t be missing any time and should be good to go for Game 1.
Odds:
The odds for the game today have the Phillies favored by -1.5 and +125. The Moneyline is set at -167 for the Phillies and +140 for the Diamondbacks.
The total runs in this game are favored over -120 at 7 runs in this contest. This means that bettors are expecting a highly offensive matchup to take place today.
Prediction:
I got the Diamondbacks winning a close Game 1 by a final score of 6-5. I believe it will be a tall task for both pitching units to shut out the opposing team as both teams’ bats are red-hot this October.
It’s hard to say who has the edge in this series as both teams have been both equally dominant on both ends sides of the field this postseason. I believe the Diamondbacks will get the upper hand in Game 1 vs. the Diamondbacks.
The First Pitch is slated at 5:07 P.M. as Zac Gallen will be looking to face off against red-hot Phillies offense.
