The Philadelphia Phillies, after winning the NL East and securing a first-round bye, have made it to the NLDS and are waiting for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds series to wrap up.
They'll play the winner of the series on Saturday, October 4th. While the Phillies have an idea of who they'll play, likely the Dodgers after their Game 1 win, the Phillies don't have a set start time for their NLDS matchup.
But, as Paul Casella of MLB.com shared on Twitter/X, there are two potential start times for the Phillies' NLDS matchup. What determines their start time is the outcome of a Wild Card series, but interestingly, it's not the Dodgers-Reds matchup.
Potential start times announced for Phillies NLDS Game 1
The Phillies will begin the NLDS at one of two times: 6:08 p.m. or 6:38 p.m. The determining factor between what start time they get has to do with a Wild Card series, but not the one that's expected.
Game time announced for Game 1 of the NLDS:
— Paul Casella (@Paul_CasellaMLB) October 1, 2025
- IF YANKEES ADVANCE: Phillies will play at 6:38 p.m. on Saturday.
- IF RED SOX ADVANCE: Phillies will play at 6:08 p.m. on Saturday.
If the New York Yankees can stage a comeback, winning their next two games, the Phillies will start at 6:38 p.m. on Saturday, October 4th. But, if the Boston Red Sox hold on, then they'll play at 6:08 p.m. The winner of that Red Sox-Yankees series will face the Toronto Blue Jays.
This is a very interesting note, as the start time being altered by just 30 minutes hinges on the outcome of a different series in a different conference.
If the start time was pushed back a little bit, if the Dodgers won rather than the Reds, due to the time zone difference, it would make more sense. Instead, the Phillies' Game 1 start time depends on whether the Red Sox or Yankees win their series.
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The Phillies were expected to start later in the day, especially with the Dodgers being a West Coast team. But, even if the Reds were to pull off an improbable comeback, the Phillies would still be starting at one of these later times.
Cristopher Sanchez will be on the bump for Philadelphia in the series opener. Aside from Zack Wheeler, this Phillies team is as close to full strength as they could get.
Whether the Phillies end up playing the Dodgers or the Reds, they'll come to Philadelphia for a night game to begin the NLDS. The Phillies will look to finally get over the hump and win the World Series, and that quest will begin at either 6:08 or 6:38 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, October 4th, at Citizens Bank Park.
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