The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off a dominant Wild Card series against the Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers chased them in two games and advanced to the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. This will be the 2-3 matchup in the NLDS as the Milwaukee Brewers are awaiting the results of the finale between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers are the defending champions, but will begin this series on the road in Philadelphia. Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani will toe the slab in Game 1 as he will give his pitching staff teammates a rest before they are plucking again. It's expected that Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will follow for Games 2 & 3. Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw could come in from the bullpen, while Roki Sasaki could be the team's closer moving forward.
For the Phillies, they, of course, will be without their ace Zack Wheeler, who is one of the game's best players. Cristopher Sanchez will start Game 1, followed by what will likely be Aaron Nola, who has been their Game 2 starter in the past. Jesus Luzardo or Ranger Suarez could go Game 3 & 4, depending on how the series goes.
The Phillies were one of the hottest teams in MLB to end the regular season, while the Dodgers won the NL West but were not as dominant as in years past. LA has the slight edge in betting odds on FanDuel for the NLDS, despite Philly having home-field advantage.
Here are the NLDS odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
Los Angeles Dodgers: -112
Philadelphia Phillies: -104
It is very close, and it's going to be a toss-up, hopefully going a full five games. If you take the Phillies initially, and they win Game 1, you could set up a successful hedge with slightly better value than the Dodgers. However, it isn't much of a difference. Whoever you take, if they win Game 1, you are in a good spot.
