Dodgers look to clinch NLDS at home in Game 4 against Phillies
Despite failing to pull off the series sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers will again look to secure their place in the Championship Series on Thursday night.
After taking the first two games of the series in Philadelphia, it seemed all but certain that the Boys in Blue would cruise to a sweep in front of the Dodger Faithful on Wednesday night, but the Phillies' offense had other plans.
With Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound for Game 3, Los Angeles fans expected to cruise to a win as the Japanese ace has been stellar all season. Philly's Kyle Schwarber had other plans, though, absolutely demolishing a 450+ home run to right field to start the fourth inning, ending an 0-22 skid that dated back to the regular season.
His homer spurred the Philadelphia lineup, which went on to score eight runs on 12 hits, including three homers. Schwarber wound up with two of those, slugging another off of long-time ace Clayton Kershaw.
In a somewhat questionable move, in what was a 3-1 game in the eighth inning, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sent Kershaw back to the mound after he barely eked through scoreless seventh. He promptly allowed four runs on six hits and three walks.
Kershaw is slated to retire at the end of the season after a spectacular Hall of Fame career.
The Dodgers started the scoring with a third-inning homer from Tommy Edman, his second of the season. They tacked on their second run in the ninth, again off the bat of Edman, when he scored Kiké Hernández with a single to left.
Now, the Dodgers will turn to Tyler Glasnow for Game 4. It'll be his first start of the postseason, but the righty already made his 2025 postseason debut in Game 1 of the NLDS, tossing one and 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. This leaves Shohei Ohtani as the likely option for Game 5, should the series return to Philadelphia.
Cristopher Sánchez will once again get the start on Thursday, after kicking off the series in Game 1, when he struck out eight through five and 2/3 innings of two-run ball. He was in line for the win, but the Phillies' bullpen blew the lead in what ended up a 5-3 victory for Los Angeles.
After scuffling through the first two games of the NLDS, the Phillies' big names finally woke up. Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper combined for seven hits and five RBIs after hitting just .111 to start the series.
Though Mookie Betts continued to hit at a torrid pace, adding two more hits to his postseason-leading total of 11, the rest of the Dodgers lineup struggled for the first time all October. Ohtani was 0-for-5 with another strikeout, while Teoscar Hernández, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith combined for just one hit and five Ks.
Ohtani is just 1-for-14 so far in the NLDS, and has 10 strikeouts in five postseason games.
The game is scheduled to start at 3:08 p.m. PDT. Should the Phillies continue the improbable comeback, the series returns to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for a decisive Game 5 on Saturday. The winner of the series will face-off against either the Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago Cubs.