Game of the Week: September 21: LAD @ PHI

[Commissioner Erick]

Los Angeles Dodgers (87-62) @ Philadelphia Phillies (89-60)


LAD: Logan Allen (9-0, 3.59)
PHI: Mike Leake (10-4, 4.68)


If things stay to course, after a rough beginning, the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers will win the NL West and defend their title in the postseason. If things stay to course, after a rough few seasons, the upstart Philadelphia Phillies will win the NL East and make the postseason for the first time in the PBA.

If things stay to course the two teams will face each other in the NLDS, making tonight's Game of the Week a likely NLDS Preview.

The Dodgers were three games under .500 on July 5th. All their hitters were hitting for a worse average than expected. Their back-end starters were awful, and their front end starters were hurt. Since then they've turned it around and are looking like an elite team again, going 46-18 since July 5th.

In August, six of their seven key hitters produced an OPS above .800. Cody Bellinger had 10 home runs for the month, Nomar Mazara hit .337 with nine home runs, and Joc Pederson hit .323 with eight home runs. So far in September, six of their seven key hitters again had an OPS of .794 or higher, with Alex Verdugo this time being the guy going on the home run binge with seven for the month.

The takeaway is that the Dodgers key hitters are all hitting at the same time. That was not the case in the first half of the year, when the Dodgers hit for some power but couldn't really string things together. Now that a lineup featuring a number of explosive hitters has woken up, and now that perhaps the best pitcher in baseball, Clayton Kershaw, is healthy, the Dodgers have gone from a team that could miss the postseason to one of the favorites for a World Championship.

The Phillies, meanwhile, have also had a wonderful summer and have surged into the NL East lead. With the Nationals struggling, Philadelphia is now a full five games ahead of Washington, making it look extremely likely that they will represent the NL East in the postseason.

The Phillies have gotten a ton of mileage from Andrew Pullin this season. Prior to this year, Pullin had never posted a positive WAR in two partial seasons in the majors. He also didn't have much time in the minors past 2017 so it was hard to evaluate what he would be from a statistical profile. Matt Grubs gave him the job as the starting left fielder and many thought it was to keep the position warm for Mickey Moniak or Seth Beer. However, Pullin had a solid summer, and though he's been cold in September, he had a key game-tying single in the ninth inning on Saturday. Pullin has 25 home runs, 31 doubles, and has a shot to knock in 100 RBIs, which before this season was a feat accomplished only by Maikel Franco in Phillies history.

The Phillies have also gotten a ton of mileage from Rule-V pick Yordan Alvarez. Plucked from the Astros in the offseason, Alvarez has stuck as a starting first baseman. He has 24 home runs, and with 91 RBIs, also has a shot to top the century mark. A big swinger with an uppercut, Alvarez doesn't have many doubles, but he does have a good idea of the strike zone. He'll strikeout, but he'll also draw his share of walks. His power is his calling card and it was on display over the weekend when he belted a walkoff Grand Slam on Saturday to beat the Oakland A's in one of the most exciting comebacks on the year. It was Alvarez' third Grand Slam of the season and his most exciting one to date.

With an extreme left-handed slant, the Phillies may be vulnerable to Dodgers starter Logan Allen. Allen throws from the left side of the mound, where the Phillies nominal starting lineup has seven lefties. This will put pressure on Maikel Franco to produce against lefties, but fortunately for Phillies fans, he's been one of the most outstanding hitters in PBA history.

Franco's 126 RBIs this year places him 16th in history. He'd tie a career high with six more, as his 132 RBIs last season is 10th most all time. Franco has 467 career RBIs, one ahead of Bryce Harper for second most RBIs in PBA history and his 140 home runs ranks 11th. If his WAR mark doesn't change the final two weeks, he'll have gone three straight seasons with a WAR number between 4.8 and 5.0. He's been a remarkable player his PBA career who is getting more time in the spotlight with Philadelphia's success.

Logan Allen will benefit immensely from a Phillies lineup the skews left-handed. However, he'll also have to deal with Franco, who has the third most home runs against left-handed pitching in PBA history. It should make the matchup a fascinating one to follow.


Questions for the GMs:


For Troy Allenbagh, Logan Allen was a relief pitcher all season. Why insert him into the rotation this late in the game?

Edwin Rios has started only 17 games this season. He has 12 home runs. Do you plan on getting him more at bats in the postseason?

You have four decent catching options. Who will get the bulk of the starts going forward and why?

For Matt Grubs, Mike Leake got hit hard in his start against the Dodgers this season. How important is it for him to have a good start tonight with a potential postseason rotation spot on the line?

You were very conservative with Seth Beer, but he's really struggled since coming back from the disabled list. How will you handle him the final few weeks and the playoffs?

Josh Fields had been having a rough month before a big appearance on Saturday when he worked 2 scoreless innings and struck out four. How much do you want to see him in action against his former team, the Dodgers?

[Dodgers]

For Troy Allenbagh, Logan Allen was a relief pitcher all season. Why insert him into the rotation this late in the game?

Response: We have paraded a long list of starters this season looking for someone to step up and take the position. Logan Allen is next in line as we try to set up our roster for the postseason as well as next year. He has done a tremendous job in the bullpen as the bridge the elite back end crew we have. This could be his last start of the season so he is excited to show Dodgers brass that he deserves a playoff roster spot.

Edwin Rios has started only 17 games this season. He has 12 home runs. Do you plan on getting him more at bats in the postseason?

Response: We dont have favorites in our organization.....lol.... wink wink. Rios has done a tremendous job with his limited at-bats this season. He has earned a playoff roster spot and will start some games as we like to use the hot hand approach and his hands are hot. We just wish he could hit right-handed so we could use the platoon excuse to get him some more starts.

You have four decent catching options. Who will get the bulk of the starts going forward and why?

Response: Keibert Ruiz is getting his shot at the Catchers duties to finish out the season. We dont expect to have Grandal or Martin back for nexrt season and we have been very pleased with Kennedy. We expect Ruiz to knock the cover off the ball even without ever seeing a AAA pitch and his abilities to call a game are unheard of, all 4 of our catchers are true game managers. THe organization has focused on haveing great catchers so we can get the best from our pitchers. Martin and Grandal have really made the kids turn the corner this year with their advanced knowledge and leadership.

[Grubs - Philly]

Mike Leake got hit hard in his start against the Dodgers this season. How important is it for him to have a good start tonight with a potential postseason rotation spot on the line?

It's 100 percent critical. All Mike Leake does is win. No matter what. Unless it's the Giants. I was really encouraged to see him handle the Marlins so well last time out. That's the kind of poise and depth we expected, and while Mike has hung around to win his games, we'd love to see another lockdown performance to give our bullpen a break. It's a long season that feels like it's going to the wire. We've got Luke Weaver coming off the DL, so there's a chance we could push Leake, but given the season Luke's had, that's a longshot.

You were very conservative with Seth Beer, but he's really struggled since coming back from the disabled list. How will you handle him the final few weeks and the playoffs?

That's a great question. I went to seven-day lineups the last sim to give Beer some time at DH, and he was 0-7 in those games. If this were real life, I'd say this isn't the time to experiment until we lock down the division. I'm honestly not sure if OOTP takes that sort of thing into account. I did bump him up in a couple games against lefties, and he did all right. JP Crawford has been having a dry spell and I'd like to see if I can kickstart them both with a little shuffling. If we clinch, expect a lot of DH appearances for Beer heading into the postseason.

Josh Fields had been having a rough month before a big appearance on Saturday when he worked 2 scoreless innings and struck out four. How much do you want to see him in action against his former team, the Dodgers?

I think Josh wants to see himself in action against his former team, that's for sure. They kicked him to the curb after a sub-par, but still solid season, and he's been out to prove them wrong all year. Josh is still quite confident, as evidenced by our ongoing contract discussions, and he loves pitching in Philly. We need his veteran presence along with Tony Watson in the pen. 

Overall, it's almost too late to do a lot of tweaking, in my opinion, so we'll try to knuckle down and get that bullpen under control to salt away the division title.

[Commissioner Erick]

Dodgers 9 - Phillies 5


WP: L. Allen (10-0)
LP: M. Leake (10-5)


With the Philadelphia Phillies extremely likely to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, Mike Leake's start against LA was, in many ways, an audition for a spot in the postseason rotation.

He failed that audition.

Leake allowed nine runs in 4.1 innings, Logan Allen improved to 10-0 on the season, and the Los Angeles Dodgers clubbed the Philadelphia Phillies 9-5.

Leake couldn't stop giving up extra base hits. Jurrickson Profar doubled down the first base line as the first batter of the game. A few productive outs later and the Dodgers scored their first run. In the third, Keibert Ruiz, a rookie, doubled with one out, scoring on a Profar single to make it 2-0. Later in the inning, Alex Verdugo doubled in a run to make it 4-0 and put runners on second and third. A wild pitch brought home a run and moved Verdugo to third, while a ground out brought him home to make it 6-0. Joc Pederson and Willie Calhoun would later homer to round out the scoring.

Logan Allen, meanwhile, was on top of his game. He worked 5 innings, but only allowed two runs, walking one and striking out six to improve to 10-0. Allen's 10-0 streak, if it ends today, would be the first time a PBA pitcher wins at least 10 decisions without a loss. Unlike Leake, Allen's audition for a starting spot in the playoffs passed.

Allen succeeded in part because Philadelphia's left-handed lineups. Maikel Franco went 0-1 and was hit by a pitch. Kyle Higashoika went 0-2. Without righties to punish Allen, he was able to carve up the Philadelphia lineup.

Marcos Diplan allowed three runs in his inning of relief, but Enny Romero struck out a pair in a battle of Dodgers relievers at the back of the bullpen.


Questions for the GM's:


For Troy Allenbagh, Allen had another fine start. Since you likely know your postseason opponent, will you ride Allen as a starter or do you still need to see more from him?

Enny Romero had a good outing in relief. If you needed him in the playoffs, would you feel confident?

Cody Bellinger, by many metrics, has been one of the worst defensive players in baseball this season. He only had one opportunity to make a play on defense today and did so, throwing out Maikel Franco. Can you survive the postseason with Bellinger's glove at third?

For Matt Grubs, you put out a lineup with seven lefties against Allen and you couldn't really touch him. Is your overly left-handed lineup a concern?

Mickey Moniak went 0-4 with three strikeouts, while Seth Beer went 0-4 with two strikeouts. Do you feel that they've hit a wall?

Your team stole three bases today. Will you try to be aggressive on the bases in the postseason?

[Grubs - Philly]

For Matt Grubs, you put out a lineup with seven lefties against Allen and you couldn't really touch him. Is your overly left-handed lineup a concern?

Sure, I'm concerned about it. It looks weird. But we chased Kershaw in two innings and Urias in the fourth, so it's not a huge issue. We have a top-10 OPS versus lefties this year. I don't have OOTP fired up, but I think we're right about at .500 against lefties. For a team with two righties in the lineup, I'm pleased. I'd rather have a lefty starter.

Mickey Moniak went 0-4 with three strikeouts, while Seth Beer went 0-4 with two strikeouts. Do you feel that they've hit a wall?

They've both dropped below .270, but Beer still has a .935 OPS. Moniak has been crazy on the basepaths, so it's nice to have him up there wreaking havoc early. His OBP has slipped though, and I'll reevaluate the best spot for him.

Your team stole three bases today. Will you try to be aggressive on the bases in the postseason?

That's a good question. You hate to run yourself out of runs or an inning, but we've been successful with our top four of Crawford, Moniak, Hererra and Schrock. I don't know that we'll go hog wild. I plan to look at September closely and adjust perhaps based on the matchup or player.