October 01, 2024
The field is set and the Phillies will put their well-earned bye into the NLDS to use this week, as they work out at the ballpark and rest up for what they hope is a run deep into October.
The Dodgers, Yankees and Guardians are all in the same boat as Philly, watching intently as the other eight playoff combatants fight it out in best of three Wild Card series this week. A look at the full field:
THE 2024 MLB POSTSEASON BRACKET IS SET 🔒
— ESPN (@espn) September 30, 2024
Who is your pick to win the Fall Classic? 👀 pic.twitter.com/KGzyzLj1US
So which teams should the Phillies — and their fans — be rooting for?
The Phillies will play the winner of this series, so we'll be spending the most time on them here. Philly has season series victories over both squads — they beat the Mets seven of 13 times, and the Brewers four of six times.
There is a lot of familiarity with both of these NL teams, and each offers a different look to the Phillies.
If the Brewers win, as they are favored to do hosting this series at home, the Phils will get a team that is a good fundamental baseball club but that lacks star power. The Brewers have one of the best bullpens in baseball, one of the better defenses, and have the second most stolen bases in the majors. But their lineup is flawed, and they have no starting pitchers likely to come out and dominate.
If the Mets win, the Phillies will be facing a team with a ton of momentum, having turned around a lost season into a playoff berth after having the best second half in the league. However, they also could be totally spent. They were forced to play a double-header on Monday in Atlanta, a day after playing in Milwaukee — and had to return there again to prepare to play what will be at least seven games in six days. Having a playoff series in New York — just over two hours away on the Jersey Turnpike — has to be preferred for the Phillies, as well as having an exhausted team that you've beaten seven times.
It might be hard to root for the Mets — but they're clearly the better second round foe for the Phils.
This one is really a toss up. First and foremost, the winner of this series will travel to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers, so a potential NLCS would pit Philadelphia against the Braves, Padres or L.A. The Dodgers are the best team in baseball, at least by regular season record and many other metrics, but the Phils handled them to the tune of a 5-1 record. They also beat the Padres five of six times.
The Braves, on the otherhand, were a thorn in the Phillies' side this season as they went 6-7 against them, one of the few teams in the playoff field the Phillies didn't hold a tiebreaker against. Still, the Dodgers losing and not needing to face that star power is probably a better recipe for a World Series run. Philly dominated San Diego, out-scoring them by 17 runs this season. But the Braves are going to be just as drained as the Mets will be, and could be without ace Chris Sale. The Padres would be healthier and more well-rested if they are the ones who advance.
I can't believe we're saying this, but Phillies fans should probably be rooting for the Braves too. If they somehow beat the Dodgers — the Phillies know how to beat them in the postseason.
The winner of this series plays the Guardians. The Phillies will be playing exactly one team from the American League — if they make it to the World Series — so there isn't too much of a rooting interest here. The Phillies handled both the Tigers and Astros in regular season series. But if revenge is on the mind, having another chance against the Astros might be the sentimental rooting interest.
The Phillies struggled against Baltimore when the two teams faced off but had success against Kansas City this season. The winner here will try and upset the high-powered Yankees, a team the Phillies would probably not want to face in the World Series (despite the geographic convenience). Using that logic, the O's beat the Yankees 8-5 in their regular season bouts, and might have a chance of knocking Aaron Judge and company out of the postseason.
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