The Philadelphia Phillies learned Wednesday evening that they would face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series after Los Angeles swept the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card round. It’s an uncommonly formidable opponent for the first official round of the playoffs, but the Phillies appear ready for the challenge, thanks in large part to their home field advantage in the series.
During a recent visit on Foul Territory, Phillies player Nick Castellanos acknowledged the hometown supporters.
“They care a lot, I’ll give them that,” said Castellanos, per Foul Territory on X, formerly Twitter. “They show up… we saluted them after the scrimmage game was over and they were loud, they’re excited, we’re excited. So hopefully there’s something special to come.”
The Phillies had a terrific regular season this year, winning the NL East for the second straight season, and they’re hopeful that their postseason run this time around goes better than it did the last time, when they were eliminated by the New York Mets.
The Phillies had a terrific regular season this year, winning the NL East for the second straight season, and they’re hopeful that their postseason run this time around goes better than it did the last time, when they were eliminated by the New York Mets.
Is this the year for the Phillies?
The Philadelphia Phillies have been banging on the door of something extraordinary for quite some time. Back in 2022, the Phillies used a late-season surge to backdoor their way into the postseason, where they advanced all the way to the World Series before succumbing to the Astros.
The next year, Philadelphia was defeated in the NLCS by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and last year, as previously stated, the divisional rival New York Mets beat them in a prior round.
The good news for the Phillies is that their trend of losing a round sooner in the playoffs than the previous year is mathematically impossible to continue, as they have at least advanced as far as they did in 2024.
Still, Philadelphia would undoubtedly like to finally capitalize on all of their skill and investment to actually compete for a championship this postseason.