The Philadelphia Phillies drew first blood in the NLCS, taking down the San Diego Padres in Game 1 on Tuesday behind Zack Wheeler, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. There's no rest here, as the two teams will turn right back around and do battle in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on Wednesday afternoon.
You can view the full postseason schedule by clicking here, and here's the 2022 playoff bracket. Now, let's get to the important stuff for Game 2.
How to watch
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 19 | Time: 4:35 p.m. ET
Location: Petco Park (San Diego, California)
TV channel: FS1 | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Odds: PHI +105; SD -125; O/U: 6.5 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Starting pitchers: RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA) vs. LHP Blake Snell (8-10, 3.38 ERA)
Preview
Nola has thus far followed up a very good regular season with a great postseason. He's worked 12 2/3 innings without surrendering an earned run, having only allowed nine hits and three walks against 12 strikeouts. He was better on the road (3.00 ERA) than home (3.53) during the regular season. On June 24, he faced the Padres in San Diego and gave up one run on seven hits in seven innings with 10 strikeouts.
Surely the Padres would like to generate more traffic in this one after only one hit and two walks in Game 1. As a reminder, they lost Game 1 last round and then beat the 111-win Dodgers in three straight games to get to this point.
Many will recall that it was an errant Snell pitch that broke Bryce Harper's thumb on June 25. There isn't likely any bad blood there, but the broadcast will make sure to remind everyone the first time those two square off.
Snell had a 2.19 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 78 innings in 14 second-half starts. He only lasted 3 1/3 in his Wild Card Series start, thanks in large part to six walks, but was great against the Dodgers in his NLDS start (5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). He's actually been a little worse at home than on the road in general, but it isn't a hard-and-fast rule here -- take note of the two playoff starts so far. Snell faced the Phillies twice this year and only lasted 9 1/3 innings while pitching to a 6.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP.
Harper has been ridiculously hot throughout the playoffs and that continued into Game 1. Schwarber had been brutal in the first two rounds, but the leadoff man was 2 for 3 with a home run and walk in Game 1, so perhaps he's waking up. That would be bad news for the Padres.
Prediction
The Phillies are really set up well here with Nola going and the bullpen having not worked overly hard in Game 1, but I think we're in for a long series and the Padres find a way to strike back. The deeper in the game the lefty Snell can last, the better their chances are of limiting Schwarber and Harper damage, too.
Pick: Padres 5, Phillies 3
