PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The Phillies are back in the postseason, and the first game is just around the corner.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Game 1 of the National League Division Series this weekend.
When is the first game?
Game 1 is set for Saturday, October 4 at Citizens Bank Park. A time has not yet been determined.
Who will they face?
The Phillies will play the winner of the wild card series between the Reds and the Dodgers.
Full NLDS schedule
- Game 1: TBD at Phillies, Saturday, Oct. 4
- Game 2: TBD at Phillies, Monday, Oct. 6
- Game 3: Phillies at TBD, Wednesday, Oct. 8
- Game 4*: Phillies at TBD, Thursday, Oct. 9
- Game 5*: TBD at Phillies, Saturday, Oct. 11
*if necessary
Red October fun
On Thursday, October 2, there will be a “Rally for Red October” double-decker bus that makes stops at select Center City and South Jersey locations. Fans should be on the lookout for postseason freebies, including a rally towel, cheer cards, beads and more. Locations and times include the following:
- 11:45 a.m. – The Comcast Center Plaza, 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA
- 1:00 p.m. – City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
- 2:15 p.m. – Ballard Park, 15 Pitman Ave, Pitman, NJ
- 3:30 p.m. – Haddon Square, 51 Haddon Avenue, Haddon Township, NJ
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Why they can win the World Series
Kyle Schwarber is made for October, and he will hold court, along with Bryce Harper, Cristopher Sanchez, Jhoan Duran and the rest of the cavalcade, in front of the most raucous crowd in baseball at Citizens Bank Park. Those are the featured players, but the Phillies’ run could hinge on their four starters’ capacity to go deep into games.
The bullpen is top-heavy, and the top is good, but if they aren’t scared off by the third time through the order like so many others, the Phillies can ride their rotation far.
Schwarber and Harper have combined for 38 home runs in 510 career postseason plate appearances and are two of the best playoff performers of their generation.
If the Phillies can hit some timely home runs — eight others on the roster reached double-digit homers — their case, already perhaps the most compelling in baseball, gets that much stronger.
If they win it all, the 2025 World Series MVP will be…
We have two logical choices here: Schwarber and Harper. Both have been outstanding in the playoffs.
Schwarber has a .906 OPS and 21 home runs in 69 games, and Harper has a 1.016 OPS and 17 home runs in 53 games.
Schwarber, of course, had a monster regular season. Let’s go with Harper, though. He knows how to lock in for October better than any other active hitter, and with time possibly running out on this aging Phillies team, it might be now or never for Harper to win a World Series.
Ready for his October close-up
Jhoan Duran got a taste of postseason baseball with the Twins in 2023, but he has never experienced it quite like at “The Bank,” with his walkout song blaring through what is widely considered the loudest, most boisterous ballpark this time of year.
The Phillies’ front office beat out a bevy of suitors for Duran at the trade deadline, and he has been everything the team could have imagined, locking down the back end of a leaky bullpen and looking very much like the final player of a title quest.
Soon, the ninth inning will come, and “El Incomprendido” will play. Philly will be ready.
ESPN contributed to this report.
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