Dodgers-Reds NL Wild Card Series: Phillies Fans Viewing Guide
While the Philadelphia Phillies rest during the bye as the two seed in the National League, viewers’ eyes will shift toward their next opponent. The Phillies will face the winner…
While the Philadelphia Phillies rest during the bye as the two seed in the National League, viewers' eyes will shift toward their next opponent. The Phillies will face the winner of the best-of-three National League Wild Card Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds
- Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 30 at Dodger Stadium, 9pm on TBS
- Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 1 at Dodger Stadium, 9pm on TBS
- Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, Oct. 2 at Dodger Stadium, TBA
The winner of the Dodgers-Reds series will travel to Citizens Bank Park for the NLDS to begin Red October.
- Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 4 at Citizens Bank Park
- Game 2: Monday, Oct. 6 at Citizens Bank Park
- Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 8 at opponent ballpark
- Game 4 (if necessary): Thursday, Oct. 9 at opponent ballpark
- Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, Oct. 11 at Citizens Bank Park
What should Phillies fans hope for in the NLDS? A three-game series would maximize the wear and tear of whichever opponent travels to Philadelphia.
It would prevent the Dodgers or the Reds from saving their probable starting pitchers in Game 3 for the NLDS opener, and it would eliminate the advantage of an extra day traveling to the East Coast.
However, one potential NLDS opponents looms much larger than the other.
Los Angeles Dodgers
An overwhelmingly extravagant offseason spurred conversations about whether the rest of the majors could keep up with the Dodgers in 2025. However, the defending World Series champions fell short of virtually all preseason expectations with a 93-69 record in an underwhelming, injury-riddled 2025 season.
Most major sportsbooks now list the Phillies as the favorites entering the MLB Playoffs.
Nobody in Philadelphia or anywhere else should fool themselves into forgetting the Dodgers have the most talented roster in the majors when healthy. Their firepower makes them the most dangerous opponent in the entire playoff field, and they’re by far the likeliest adversary to kick off Red October at Citizens Bank Park.
Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty ImagesYoshinobu Yamamoto kept a banged-up starting pitching staff afloat with an excellent regular season. The Dodgers have reinforcements with Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow rounding into form after shaky regular season availability.
The Dodgers finished second in the majors in home runs and OPS behind only the hard-hitting New York Yankees. A lineup with Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman can slug against even the best pitching staffs.
The Phillies earned home field advantage with a stronger regular season. Their two series victories against the Dodgers extended an overall series win streak to five in the quasi-rivalry.
“There’s a lot of familiarity. We haven’t played them in a lot of postseason games in recent years, but there’s a little rivalry with us, which is interesting I think in a really good way... We’ve both been good for so long. I think we play similarly. There’s a lot of star power with both ball clubs. I think there’s a mutual respect. I enjoy playing these guys.”
-Dave Roberts on facing the Phillies
The most important matchup advantage the Phillies demonstrated during a series win at Dodger Stadium from September 15-17 was an ability to hit the Los Angeles bullpen.
Dodgers starters Ohtani, Snell, and Emmet Sheehan (although Sheehan pitched behind an opener) combined for a 0.50 ERA in 17 ⅔ innings. The Phillies conversely blasted Dodgers relievers for 13 runs in only 10 ⅓ innings (11.30 ERA).
The Phillies will also remember their franchise history at Dodger Stadium from NLCS victories in 2008 and 2009.
A Phillies-Dodgers series will make MLB officials and television networks gush. It’ll excite Philadelphia fans for Red October with the showcase opponent to kick off what could be a memorable run to a World Series.
However, facing a powerhouse is not a favorable NLDS matchup for a club like the Phillies who finished with the second best record in the majors and earned a first-round bye. The ball club’s interests have nothing to do with television ratings or storybook narratives.
The Phillies would welcome an upset from a less-talented Reds team that backed into the postseason rather than the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cincinnati Reds
The New York Mets melted down drastically in the final weeks of the 2025 season. The historic collapse allowed an underwhelming Reds team to sneak into the final NL Wild Card spot despite September series losses to the lowly Athletics and Pirates. They also lost game 162 without a playoff spot locked up.
The Reds finished 14th in the majors in runs scored and 19th in OPS. The energetic Elly De La Cruz has sparked the franchise with hope for a potential superstar, but the 23-year-old hasn’t yet developed into a threatening lineup centerpiece. Former Phillies outfielder Austin Hays rebounded well in a solid 2025 season, but the Cincinnati lineup simply doesn’t compare to the Dodgers’ firepower.
The Phillies won’t stroll into Citizens Bank Park expecting to roll over the Reds. The two teams split the season series, and the Reds held the Phillies to five runs in three games at Great American Ballpark in August.
Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty ImagesThe Reds will likely throw Hunter Greene, Zack Littell, and Andrew Abbott for the three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Brady Singer and Nick Lodolo also pitched contributed to a deep starting rotation that finished eighth in the majors with a 3.83 ERA.
Terry Francona established a better winning culture during his first season in Cincinnati after a historically underwhelming franchise trudged through six mediocre seasons under David Bell.
The future Hall of Fame skipper managed the Phillies from 1997-2000 during the days when Ricky Bottalico held down the bullpen at Veterans Stadium. Francona brought a winning attitude with two World Series and three AL pennants to his name, and he’s earned a reputation as one of the best strategic managers in the majors.
If the Reds travel to Dodger Stadium for an unlikely upset, they'll fly across the country to Citizens Bank Park as a young, inexperienced team with significant momentum and the proverbial house money feeling.
A formidable starting rotating and a confident manager presents a potential opponent that could realistically beat the Phillies in a short NLDS.
However, aspects of the matchup in Cincinnati’s favor simply don’t indicate a threat comparable to what the Dodgers would bring. They’ll also enter the Wild Card Series as massive underdogs to spoil the looming marquee Phillies-Dodgers matchup.
