The ALCS kicked off last night and the Rangers took the 1st game of the series against the Astros. Tonight, the NLCS begins. The Arizona Diamondbacks will be taking on the Philadelphia Phillies and while some thought the Phillies could make it, the DBacks were not on anybody’s radar. Arizona has yet to lose a game in the postseason and the Phillies have only lost one game so far. We’ll see how it starts out tonight.

The Diamondbacks have been stout in the postseason. They will look to ride out the momentum in the NLCS. The pitching has been solid for Arizona and they have only given up 11 runs in the 5 postseason games. However, they will be looking at a tougher matchup on the other side in this series. Paul Sewald was a huge addition for them at the trade deadline. They picked the closer up from the Mariners and he has a save in all but one postseason game for them. They will rely heavily on the arms of Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen in this series.

Superstar outfielder, Corbin Carroll has been clutch in the postseason. He carries a .412 AVG and he has been very impressive for a rookie in his first playoff appearance. Gabriel Moreno has provided the power with the 3 HRs. He isn't really known for his power, but he has shown it so far. One of the big stories with this team has to be Evan Longoria. Longoria was known for his time with the Rays and has had a fantastic career, but the 38-year old third baseman hasn’t won a World Series. He has his shot to make it there, but they need to outpace the hot Phillies bats.

The Phillies are the talk of the baseball world. They embarrassed the MLB Regular Season Champion, Atlanta Braves. Other than the late-game surge from the Braves in Game 2, they dominated that series. They also dominated the series against the Marlins. Just watching the games, they feel like they’re the team to beat. Before the playoffs started, I had the Phillies as my World Series winners. If you go back to my LDS Previews, then you may have saw that I picked the Braves, but that was a last second thing. I knew it was going to be tough for them to beat the Phillies.

The Phils have been propelled by the big bats of Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper. Well, those have been the big names, the whole team has been hitting the ball well, for the most part. Their biggest question mark was their pitching because they were inconsistent at times during the regular season, but they have been phenomenal. The 3-man rotation of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Ranger Suarez has been great, and the bullpen has only allowed 3 runs in 19 innings. The Phillies are the team to beat.

Arizona has been counted out by the majority of fans in this postseason, but I just don’t think they have what it takes to get by the Phillies. In the ALCS, I predicted the Astros to move on, but I honestly could see it going either way. I can't really imagine a scenario where the Diamondbacks move on to the World Series. If they can add some more pitching next season and maybe another solid bat, I think they will be a perineal playoff team, but for now, I don’t think they’re that team just yet. The Phillies should win fairly easily, and I think we will get a rematch for the 2022 World Series.

PHILLIES IN 5

Yacs

2023 MLB NLCS Preview