The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies meet up again Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park in what is shaping up to be an exciting National League Division Series opener. Over the last two years, these two teams have dominated the NL regular season, making this best-of-five matchup a critical series that just happens to be occurring one round too early.
For the Dodgers, one question stands out: Can their bullpen avoid the meltdowns that plagued them all season and prevented them from securing a first-round bye?
Can the Los Angeles Bullpen Hold Its Ground?
The Los Angeles relief corps could be their biggest weakness entering this series, a reality that was painfully evident throughout September and remains their most glaring concern. The defending World Series champions posted a 4.12 ERA from their bullpen this season with 26 blown saves, numbers that would be alarming for any contender, let alone one with championship hopes.
The most haunting reminder of this weakness came just two and a half weeks ago when these same Phillies visited Dodger Stadium. Shohei Ohtani carved through Philadelphia’s lineup for five no-hit innings on September 16, leaving with a 4-0 lead after just 68 pitches. What happened next encapsulated the Dodgers’ season-long struggle — Justin Wrobleski entered in the sixth inning and promptly surrendered five runs without recording an out, including a three-run homer to Brandon Marsh that gave Philadelphia the lead for good in an eventual 9-6 victory.
The Phillies won that series two games to one, exposing the Dodgers’ late-inning weakness and serving as a blueprint for how to attack Los Angeles when their starters exit.
Out with Wrobleski, In with Kershaw and Banda
Recognizing the urgent need to stabilize their relief corps, the Dodgers made strategic changes to their NLDS roster, which was announced Saturday morning. Anthony Banda and Clayton Kershaw, who were both not part of the wild card roster, will be on the NLDS roster, replacing Justin Wrobleski and Edgardo Henriquez.
The moves signal manager Dave Roberts‘ willingness to get creative with his bullpen construction. Kershaw, the future Hall of Famer who is retiring after this season, has transitioned into a relief role after spending his entire career as a starter. He made one relief appearance in the regular season, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in a win against Arizona on September 24.
“We have six amazing starters,” Kershaw said. “And so it’s just, yeah, I can do the math. So if I want to be a part of it in any way, I’ll do whatever they want.”
Banda provides another left-handed option, adding another arm Roberts can deploy in specific matchups against a Philadelphia lineup loaded with lefty hitters. The bullpen also includes Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan, both starters who have been converted to relief roles specifically for October.
Ohtani’s First Career Postseason Start
Saturday night marks a historic moment as Ohtani becomes the first player in Major League history to start at least one game as a pitcher and at least one game as a non-pitcher in a single postseason. After not pitching at all during the first half of 2025, Ohtani has ramped up to regular starter status, throwing six scoreless innings in his final regular-season start against Arizona.
“I’m sure I’ll be nervous at times,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But more than that, I’m just really grateful that I get to play baseball at this time of the year. And just being healthy is really important to me, so I’m just grateful for that.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson witnessed Ohtani’s dominance firsthand in that September matchup and knows what the two-way star is capable of when everything is working.
“A couple weeks ago was probably his best start of the year,” Thomson said. “He was phenomenal. It’s the combination of power and control, command, stuff. He was really good. He was pumping strikes, and it was 98, 99 mph. And the secondary pitches are all way above average. So if he’s doing that, it’s a tough task.”
Dodgers Announce Starting Pitching Plans Beyond Game 1
Blake Snell is expected to get the ball for Game 2 on Monday, followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 3 when the series shifts to Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. Tyler Glasnow will be available in relief for Game 1 if needed, which would line him up to start Game 4 on Thursday if necessary.
The Dodgers’ starting rotation led the Majors with a 2.74 ERA since becoming fully healthy in August, giving Roberts confidence in pushing his starters deep into games. Given the bullpen’s unreliability, that length becomes even more critical.
“I think it’s all contingent on how they’re throwing the baseball,” Roberts said. “I think it’s easy to say that they’re our most talented arms on the staff. So obviously with that, you want them throwing the majority of the innings, pitches.”
Will the Dodgers Survive Their Biggest Weakness?
The Dodgers survived the wild card round by sweeping Cincinnati in two games, with Snell and Yamamoto delivering seven and 6- 2/3 innings respectively. But the NLDS presents a far stiffer test against a Phillies team that has won as many games over the past two seasons and knows it can attack the Dodgers’ weakness.
If Los Angeles can get past Philadelphia, they would have the opportunity to reconfigure their bullpen once again for the NLCS, taking advantage of the break between series. But first, they must survive five games without their relief corps imploding at the worst possible moment — something they failed to do in September and throughout a season defined by late-inning futility.
For all the Dodgers’ strengths, their championship defense may ultimately hinge on whether a patchwork bullpen can hold leads when it matters most.