Sho-time in Philadelphia: Phillies’ NLDS vs. Ohtani, Dodgers will be marquee matchup

PHILADELPHIA — On Sept. 16, the night after the Phillies wrapped up the National League East and partied at Dodger Stadium, the club got an early preview of what has turned out to be its opening postseason matchup. Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez started for Philadelphia, and two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani threw for the Dodgers, going up against the Phillies as a pitcher for the first time in his career.

Ohtani won the battle, throwing five scoreless innings compared to Sánchez’s four runs over seven innings, but the Phillies won the war as they came back to win the game and secure a series victory over Los Angeles. That all but settled the race for the No. 2 seed in the National League, putting the Phillies in position to earn a first-round postseason bye. And after the third-seeded Dodgers beat the Reds in the Wild Card Series, a rematch between Sánchez and Ohtani will take place in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.

“I faced him in LA recently,” Sánchez said of Ohtani through a team interpreter. “It was a beautiful experience. It was something great. But right now I’m focusing on the pitching. And right now I’m focusing on controlling my emotions and performing out there.”

Ohtani, the second-year Dodger and eighth-year big leaguer, is the biggest name in all of baseball. You know the deal; he pitches, he hits and he does both better than just about anyone when healthy. The Japanese superstar is the reigning NL MVP following the first 50-homer, 50-steal season in major-league history, and he helped Los Angeles win the World Series in 2024. But after Ohtani was sidelined from pitching all of last year as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, Game 1 will be the right-hander’s first career playoff appearance on the mound.

“I’m sure I’ll be nervous at times,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “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.”

As it does everywhere, Ohtani’s presence in Philadelphia will draw attention. The press box will be full with visiting media. And the Philadelphia crowd will surely be all over him, doing all it can to rattle Ohtani every time he toes the rubber or steps into the batter’s box as the leadoff man.

“They’re known to be very passionate fans,” Ohtani said. “The atmosphere, I’m sure, is going to be passionate and rocking, as well.”

Phillies owner John Middleton knows this NLDS will be highly anticipated due to the star power. Playing in its fourth consecutive postseason, Philadelphia has a strong rotation and All-Stars like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner. The Dodgers are the defending champions and have a reach that has gone global.

“Because of Ohtani and LA,” Middleton said, “I think the Dodgers carry a certain stature, as do the Yankees, frankly. So I think whenever those two teams are playing in a series, it takes on greater proportions.”

Television play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson, who will be calling the NLDS on TBS, agreed that this series will have a wide audience, a large part of it due to Ohtani. Anderson called Ohtani “our generation’s Babe Ruth” and said “it was tough to reconcile” the fact that such a unique talent spent years away from the playoffs while with the Angels. But now that Ohtani is here in October and excelling on both sides, it adds an extra element.

“You’re seeing the greatest player in the game in all of his glory, and you’re just catching two teams that have massive payrolls with massive superstar appeal,” Anderson said. “It’s a collision course in this Division Series.

“That’s what’s so fun about this series: big markets, big payrolls, big names. That’s why we’re here. That’s what entertains us as a network and why we spend so much money to have games like this, to get the rights to cover games like this for all these years.”

As Anderson noted, Ohtani is a showstopper, but he’s not the entire production. There’s a ton of great players and a ton at stake in this series. With the highest payroll in Major League Baseball, the Dodgers are looking to repeat as champs and potentially send future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw into retirement on a grand note. The Phillies, with impending free agents like Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Ranger Suárez, hope to complete this current group’s resume with a World Series title. Only one club can advance to the NL Championship Series.

“These are two really, really good teams that have a galaxy of stars, frankly,” Middleton said. “And Ohtani is maybe the brightest one, I understand, but he’s not by himself on the Dodgers. And frankly, we’ve got people on our team. I think it’s going to be great. I’m expecting a spectacularly good Division Series: tight down to the last out; every game, every inning contested. I think in some ways it’s just too bad it’s not a best-of-seven instead of a best-of-five.”