The Los Angeles Dodgers swept their way through the Wild Card Series against the Cincinnati Reds, and now are facing the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series.
Although the road to get to this point has been difficult at times, the Dodgers reached the NLDS for a 13th consecutive season. It’s the first time since they faced the Phillies in the postseason since 2009, when Philadelphia knocked them out of the playoffs in consecutive years.
The Dodgers and Phillies have been the two favorites to represent the NL in the World Series for most of the season, which makes this an even more intriguing matchup. Each team is also dealing with their own issues: constant bullpens struggle for the Dodgers, and the loss of Zack Wheeler for the Phillies.
Even as the bullpen remains a weakness for Dodgers each night, manager Dave Roberts is confident in his club’s ability to win the World Series.
“I think we can win it all,” Roberts said. “I think we’re equipped to do that. We certainly have the pedigree, we certainly have the hunger, we’re playing great baseball. And in all honesty, I don’t care who we play. I just want to be the last team standing.”
That feeling is echoed among the players. Three-time World Series champion Mookie Betts said it’s hard to rank the team’s he’s been on, but knows the 2025 Dodgers is one that can end up winning the World Series.
“But obviously I know we can win the whole thing,” Betts said. “We just have to play good baseball. We’ve got to continue to pitch, timely hitting and play defense, and everything should be OK.”
Both the starting pitchers and the offense have been clicking at the right time for the Dodgers, and that could be enough to overpower their opponents on most nights, even with their bullpen. Roberts has also seen his club playing “team baseball” and taking “team at-bats.”
“I think what we’re seeing is winning pitches, using the whole field, fighting and not trying to just slug,” Roberts said. “I think we’re taking team at-bats. Situationally, we’ve been fantastic. And even Rort at the bottom, whether it’s a sacrifice, the fight to slap an 0-2 double the other way to get on base. We’re doing whatever it takes, whether it’s a sac fly. Even Shohei in a situation, getting a guy over to set the stage for Mookie.”
Playing team baseball now may be a result of the struggles the Dodgers endured during the regular season. Those moments helped them bond as a team, showed them they can overcome obstacles, and helped make them more mentally tough.
“We have went through a lot,” Betts said. “We had a lot of struggles really all year, but I think we all view that as just a test to see how we would respond. And so now we’re starting to use those tests that we went through earlier to respond now and be ready now.
“And anything that comes our way, it can’t be worse than what we’ve already went through. Just keeping a positive mindset and just keep going.”
Betts later went on to add, “But we’ve been through so much that we know it’s just a matter of time. We’ve just got to play one inning at a time, one pitch at a time. That’s what I love about this team.”
Dodgers welcomed NLDS matchup with Phillies
For the Dodgers to win the World Series, they’ll have to slay some postseason demons of theirs with the Phillies. The Phillies knocked out the Dodgers in both the 2008 and 2009 NL Championship Series, and they also beat them in the 1983 NLCS.
The Phillies also finished ahead of the Dodgers in the standings this year, so they got the bye while the Dodgers had to play in the Wild Card Series. But it’s a battle of arguably the two most talented teams in MLB, and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was excited to watch it unfold.
“Phillies are obviously a really good team,” Friedman said. “They got to sit back and watch us play these two games because they earned a bye. So obviously they’re a really good team. I look forward to this matchup.”
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