The Los Angeles Dodgers, following their clean sweep of the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Wild Card round, take a trip out East to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS.
It's a massive matchup, with the winner of the series likely viewed as the World Series favorites. The matchup won't be easy, but fortunately for the Dodgers, there is one area that they can attack to help win the series.
In an article from Matt Gelb, Fabian Ardaya, and Eno Saris of The Athletic, the Dodgers-Phillies NLDS matchup was delved into, with each team's biggest weakness coming to light. For the Dodgers, there's a clear way to take advantage of the Phillies' weakness, and it's not such a difficult task either.
How the Dodgers can take advantage of the Phillies' biggest weakness heading into the NLDS
The Phillies' biggest weakness was clear to the trio of writers at The Athletic. While Jhoan Duran and the starters are great, what will the Phillies do in between?
"Getting the ball to Duran might be an adventure," Gelb, Ardaya, and Sarris write. "David Robertson and Matt Strahm are the setup men, although neither is the prototypical hard-throwing reliever. What happens in the middle of games?"
The Phillies will send out three left-handed starters against the Dodgers, with Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, and Ranger Suarez getting the starts against Los Angeles.
Duran will be their closer, but the pitchers in between are a lot more uncertain. Strahm and Robertson have flashed and struggled at times this season. The same can be said about Orion Kerkering, a young reliever who's shown potential but has struggled to maintain control at times.
The Dodgers' plan is clear: they need to get to the middle relievers during the NLDS. Getting to the trio of lefty starters is possible, but a lot more unlikely than it is against Strahm, Robertson, and Kerkering.
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One of the most important players for the Dodgers in this series will be Mookie Betts. With Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani hitting from the left side of the plate, Strahm might be thrown into the game for the top of the lineup for the better matchups.
While Ohtani and Freeman are still good against left-handed pitching, Betts's at-bats against Strahm will be imperative to team success. If the Dodgers can get to Strahm, it'd most likely come at the hands of Betts.
The Phillies' starter and closer combo is one of the best in baseball. Instead of trying to win a tough matchup, the Dodgers' hitters need to produce against the Phillies' middle relievers during the NLDS.
Whether it's Strahm, Robertson, Kerkering, or Tanner Banks, the Dodgers' lineup needs to get to those relievers to find success in this series. It's the Phillies' biggest weakness, and if the Dodgers can take advantage of it, they'll be in good shape to win the series.
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