Few people predicted it, but here we are with the Phillies and Padres set to open an improbable National League Championship Series. The two Wild Card clubs open the best-of-seven series Tuesday night at Petco Park.
Game Times
Game 1: Phillies at Padres, Tuesday at 8:03 p.m. ET, FS1
Game 2: Phillies at Padres, Wednesday at 4:35 p.m. ET, Fox/FS1
Game 3: Padres at Phillies, Friday at 7:37 p.m. ET, FS1
Game 4: Padres at Phillies, Saturday at 7:45 p.m. ET, FOX
Game 5: Padres at Phillies, Sunday at 2:37 p.m. ET, FS1 (if necessary)
Game 6: Phillies at Padres, Oct. 24 at 8:03 p.m. ET, FS1 (if necessary)
Game 7: Phillies at Padres, Oct. 25 at 8:03 p.m. ET, Fox/FS1 (if necessary)
The Phillies relied on spectacular starting pitching and timely hitting to eliminate the Cardinals and the Braves. The .717 OPS in the postseason is the highest mark of all teams still alive, while the 0.96 WHIP is second only to Cleveland.
For a team that struggled early on, the Phillies continue to perform well when it matters most.
"I don't think any of us are shocked at the situation," said Bryce Harper. "I think going into Spring Training, Dave Dombrowski and John Middleton making the decision to go over the tax and give us our best chance to win. Of course we didn't play up to our ability in that moment in those first two months I would say, and then we kind of just turned it around. Our bullpen got better. Our starting pitching got better. Our lineup construct got better, and our lineup got better. I think being able to kind of let our rookies go and let them run and do their thing helped us a lot. When you're able to have that mindset as an organization that we have to let our young guys play, we have to let them succeed, we have to let them fail, as well, we were able to do that."
Harper has been on fire in the postseason, hitting .435 with three homers, three doubles, and six RBIs.
Pitching Plans
Clinching the NL Division Series on Saturday allowed the Phillies to give Zack Wheeler an extra day of rest; he'll start Game 1. Aaron Nola will pitch Game 2, while Ranger Suarez will likely start Game 3.
"It’s just another start,” Wheeler said Monday at Petco Park. “Obviously, it's a bigger stage. It's a lot riding on it. But we want to get that first win of the series. It's just another start for me just because you don't try to get too high or too low. You try to stay right there at that level and just think of it as another game, even though there are bigger things going into it, I guess you could say, bigger outcomes.”
Wheeler has surrendered three earned runs over 12 1/3 innings while posting a 0.65 WHIP in two postseason starts.
NLCS Roster
David Robertson, who missed the NLDS while dealing with a calf strain he sustained while celebrating a Harper homer in the Wild Card round, is back on the Phils' active roster. Reliever Nick Nelson is the odd man out.