The Biggest Reason Why Beating the Dodgers Mattered
The Los Angeles Dodgers traveled to Citizens Bank Park with an immaculate 8-0 record after a World Series championship and an overwhelming offseason spending spree. However, the Philadelphia Phillies kept…
The Los Angeles Dodgers traveled to Citizens Bank Park with an immaculate 8-0 record after a World Series championship and an overwhelming offseason spending spree.
However, the Philadelphia Phillies kept Shohei Ohtani and the hard-hitting Dodgers under control and took two of three in the weekend series.
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Ricky Bottalico warned you on The Best Show Ever not to overreact and treat an MLB series in early April like the end-all, be-all for the Phillies.
Rob Thomson also didn’t feed the narrative of a statement victory or a harbinger for success. He spoke about defeating the World Series favorites as just another one of 52 series in the 2025 season.
However, even if the manager or the players won’t hype themselves up, winning a series in the MLB spotlight matters for the mentality of many fans who dismissed any spring training buzz about the Phillies as a legitimate World Series contender.
Lack Of Spring Training Buzz
Spring training usually inspires optimism in Philadelphia. The picturesque photos from Clearwater and the idea of Phillies baseball on the horizon rejuvenates a cold Northeast city as winter fades away.
However, a disappointing playoff loss against the New York Mets last season dulled that optimism.
Many callers on 97.5 The Fanatic spoke with a tone of defeat before the season started, and social media backlash against all mentions of the Phillies seemed extreme.
Photo by Elsa/Getty ImagesThe same fans who celebrated Super Bowl LIX on Broad Street had an obvious, more favorable comparison. It led some of them to criticize a franchise with linear regression in terms of playoff round wins in two consecutive Red Octobers.
The Mets and the Dodgers also dominated the MLB offseason headlines with splashes that weren’t realistically on the table for the Phillies. Historically active front office executive Dave Dombrowski drew more criticism than at any other point of his tenure in Philadelphia.
A Phillies team that entered the 2025 season with one of the five best MLB rosters somehow generated almost no preseason buzz locally.
The skepticism carried into pregame introductions at the home opener, when Citizens Bank Park was loudest when the crowd booed Taijuan Walker.
Phillies-Dodgers Showcase Series
The ballpark atmosphere on Friday flipped the script.
National TV broadcasts for the first two games of the series drew the right level of attention. It was Bryce Harper versus Shohei Ohtani and Trea Turner versus Mookie Betts. It was two of the best rotations in baseball sending out the big guns for a potential playoff preview.
The Japanese media showed up in masses with heavy interest in a key series involving Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki.
Hall of Famer Jayson Stark asked Dodgers manager Dave Roberts about the electricity of the two series between the teams last season. Roberts admitted what Thomson wouldn’t.
“I think that both teams like to use each other as like a barometer or benchmark. I think there’s a little bit of that. There’s a lot of familiarity. We haven’t played them in a lot of postseason games in recent years, but there’s a little rivalry with us, which is interesting I think in a really good way… We’ve both been good for so long. I think we play similarly. There’s a lot of star power on both ball clubs. I think there’s a mutual respect. I enjoy playing these guys.” -Dave Roberts
Harper boldly claimed that anyone complaining about the Dodgers as the new Evil Empire of baseball is following a loser’s mentality.
His competitive juices flow when the brightest lights shine on him. He delivered biggest in the series finale with an RBI single in the third inning and a good motor around the bases to score the tying run in the seventh.
Phillies Beat The Defending World Series Champions
A sellout crowd watched the Phillies win a tight series opener on Friday.
Fans who think the Phillies didn’t make any major offseason acquisitions watched Jesus Luzardo dominate the best lineup in the majors.
The hard-throwing lefty pitched seven scoreless innings in a 3-2 victory. He’s struck out 19 hitters in 12 innings in his only two starts since the December trade with the Miami Marlins.
“He’s a competitor. When he gets out on the mound, he’s a bulldog. He’s quiet, goes about his business inside. When he gets out there, it’s game on for him.” -Rob Thomson
The visitors felt the wrath of a Philadelphia crowd chanting "F*** the Dodgers" while waiting for replay confirmation of the final out in the top of the ninth.
However, LA bounced back quickly and shut the Phillies lineup down with a 3-1 victory in the second game. The Sunday rubber match produced the real highlights of the series.
Nick Castellanos smacked a grand slam to give the Phillies an early 6-2 lead on a cold, rainy afternoon on getaway day. However, the Dodgers are never out of a game. Although the Phillies contained Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez did most of the damage on Sunday with three extra-base hits and five RBI.
Three lead changes and high-leverage situations in nearly every inning forced the managers to milk their bullpens. Los Angeles crushed Jordan Romano to steal the lead back in the top of the seventh.
The Phillies rallied for two in the bottom half, including the eventual game-winning run that scored because sparkplug Edmundo Sosa busted down the line to break up what looked like an inning-ending double-play groundout.
Jose Alvarado slammed the door on Ohtani again in the ninth. The Japanese sensation went 1-11 in the series with five strikeouts, and the Phillies escaped with a win.
The Phillies won five of six against the Dodgers in 2024. It didn’t matter in October. An upcoming series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park will actually have more impact with stakes in the National League East.
Did Philadelphia's World Series chances increase drastically with an impressive weekend at Citizens Bank Park? Probably not, but they gave skeptical fans something to feel more excited about.
