The Phillies do not get a chance to ease into the most important portion of their summer.
After dropping two of three to the Mets, they now welcome the best team in baseball to Citizens Bank Park for three games. The Dodgers arrive Monday night with a 63-37 record, an overwhelming plus-155 run differential and another roster built to play deep into October. The Phillies enter at 55-45, three games behind Atlanta in the National League East and three games clear of the nearest challenger for a wild-card position.
And once Los Angeles leaves, the Yankees come to town Friday.
This is not merely a difficult week. It is a measuring stick.
The Phillies have spent nearly three months repairing the damage from their 9-19 start. They have climbed back into the division race, stabilized under interim manager Don Mattingly and reestablished themselves as a legitimate postseason contender. But the Dodgers represent something different. They are the standard Philadelphia eventually may have to clear.
Los Angeles eliminated the Phillies in last year’s NL Division Series before winning a second consecutive World Series. The Dodgers also took two of three from Philadelphia when the teams met in Los Angeles in late May.
The Phillies could not ask for a better pitching arrangement to begin the rematch.
Cristopher Sánchez will start Monday opposite Emmet Sheehan. Sánchez enters at 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA and 144 strikeouts, making his first appearance since starting the All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park. Sheehan is 4-6 with a 4.81 ERA, although he has limited opponents to two earned runs or fewer in each of his last three starts.
Tuesday provides another apparent advantage. Zack Wheeler, who is 10-1 with a 2.13 ERA, is scheduled to face left-hander Eric Lauer, who carries a 4-5 record and 4.81 ERA. Wheeler has been the stabilizing force the Phillies expected him to be, and his presence gives Philadelphia a realistic chance to control the first two games of the series.
That makes early offensive production essential.
The Dodgers have scored 517 runs, compared with 432 for the Phillies. Los Angeles can change a game quickly, extend innings and force opposing bullpens to cover more outs than planned. Shohei Ohtani remains the center of everything, even with soreness in his left knee preventing him from pitching during the series. He is expected to remain in the lineup as the designated hitter and entered the series with four home runs and 10 RBIs in July.
The Phillies will need more than Kyle Schwarber to keep pace. Schwarber leads the majors with 33 home runs and has carried the lineup through long stretches, while Bryce Harper enters with 20 homers and an .853 OPS. Brandon Marsh has quietly supplied one of the club’s better seasons, batting .293 with an .808 OPS.
But the inconsistency surrounding them remains difficult to ignore. The Phillies cannot afford empty innings against a team capable of turning one mistake into three runs. Sheehan and Lauer may appear vulnerable on paper, but Philadelphia must make those matchups matter before the game reaches a Dodgers bullpen accustomed to protecting leads.
Wednesday’s finale could place even more pressure on the offense. Aaron Nola, 3-7 with a 5.68 ERA, is scheduled to oppose Justin Wrobleski, who is 10-2 with a 2.69 ERA. It is the most difficult pitching matchup of the series for Philadelphia and another reminder that wasting Sánchez or Wheeler starts could prove expensive.
The Phillies do not have to sweep the Dodgers to prove they belong in the same conversation. They do, however, need to look capable of controlling games against baseball’s most complete team.
That means scoring when the matchup favors them, avoiding bullpen chaos and playing clean baseball behind Sánchez and Wheeler. It means treating July games with the urgency their position demands.
The Phillies have already proven they can recover from a terrible start.
This week will begin showing whether they are capable of becoming something more.
