The Philadelphia Phillies open a three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, and if you’re hunting for a storyline, pal, start here: the team that ended your season last October just walked into your house.
First pitch is 7:10 p.m. on ESPN. Left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (11-4, 2.62 ERA) gets the ball for the Phillies. The Dodgers counter with right-hander Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81 ERA). Radio coverage runs on 94WIP and WDEL 101.7 FM/1150 AM, with streaming available on the ESPN app. In the Philadelphia market, NBC Sports Philadelphia carries the broadcast on FuboTV, Hulu, Peacock, and YouTube TV.
The Phillies stumbled out of the All-Star break, dropping a series to the Mets — a club that couldn’t punch its way out of a wet paper bag this season. They held Sanchez and Zack Wheeler back during that series, essentially punting in favor of extra rest. Whether that gamble pays off starts revealing itself Monday night.
Sanchez has been a different animal at home: 7-1 with a 0.86 ERA at Citizens Bank Park, according to SportsLine expert Matt Severance, who is picking the Phillies at -140. Severance also flagged the Dodgers as being in a “horrible double-whammy spot” — coming off a doubleheader and a Sunday night game, with travel to Philadelphia layered on top.
The Dodgers arrive as two-time defending World Series champions and heavy favorites to make it three straight. They’re also the club that knocked the Phillies out of the playoffs last year, which adds a little hot sauce to a Monday night in July.
Not everything is clicking for L.A., though. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez missed over a month with a hamstring injury suffered in late May and has batted .118 with one home run since returning. His .698 OPS and typically poor outfield defense have made him worth 0.1 WAR this season. The Dodgers are 9-7 since he came back — hardly a collapse, but not exactly the steamroller you expect from a team operating on a different financial planet than everyone else.
The series preview also dredged up the ghost of Mike Lieberthal, who caught for the Phillies from 1994 to 2006 — two All-Star appearances, a Gold Glove, and zero playoff games, because his entire tenure aligned with one of the franchise’s longest postseason droughts. Lieberthal signed with the Dodgers after 2006, posted a .540 OPS in 38 games, and watched L.A. miss the playoffs in 2007. The Dodgers made it back in 2008, after he was gone. The Phillies won the World Series that year. Sometimes the baseball gods have a sense of timing.
For the Phillies, the math is straightforward. They’ll likely have to go through Los Angeles to reach the World Series, and their best path runs through Sanchez and Wheeler dominating. Monday is the first taste of whether that extra rest turned Sanchez back into the pitcher who owned the first half.
Sources:
- What channel is Phillies vs. Dodgers on Monday? How to watch, stream — Yahoo Sports / Delaware News Journal
- Villains need comeuppance: Phillies vs. Dodgers series preview — Yahoo Sports
- Use BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS for Dodgers vs. Phillies, MLB betting on Monday — CBS Sports