Dodgers at Phillies
When the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers first met in late May, they owned the top two records in the National League. As the two teams square off again in Philadelphia in the opener of a four-game set on Monday, the Phillies find themselves barely hanging on for a wild-card spot while the Dodgers are the only team in the majors with at least 60 wins.
Philadelphia (48-45) was 33-23 and held a three-game lead in the NL East when it visited Los Angeles for a three-game series from May 31-June 2 but managed only six runs while getting swept by the Dodgers. The Phillies were able to steady the ship over the next two weeks, but the floodgates opened beginning in the middle of June, leading to an 8-14 stretch they were able to halt Sunday following a 4-3 victory over Washington to avoid a three-game sweep at home and edge past Milwaukee for the second wild card. Los Angeles (62-33) owns a double-digit lead over every NL team except Atlanta, including a 14 1/2-game advantage over Colorado and Arizona in the NL West. The Dodgers took two of three over the weekend at the Boston Red Sox, scoring 18 runs over the final two contests to exact a bit of revenge against the team that defeated them in five games during last year's World Series.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles), NBCS Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 3.09 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Zach Eflin (7-8, 3.78)
Kershaw is winless in his last three starts but entered the All-Star break on a positive note following a couple of rough outings after allowing two runs (one earned) over seven innings in a no-decision against San Diego. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has logged at least six frames in each of his 15 trips to the mound, recording a quality start 12 times. Bryce Harper is 3-for-24 with 14 strikeouts against Kershaw, who settled for a no-decision against Philadelphia on June 1 despite yielding one unearned run in seven frames.
Eflin's ERA spiked nearly a full run over his last three first-half starts, including a loss in Atlanta on July 4 when he was pounded for seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and two walks over three innings. The 25-year-old owned a 2.83 ERA through his first 14 outings of the season but has been posted a 9.64 mark during his rough spell. Max Muncy is 3-for-5 with two solo homers versus Eflin, who is 0-2 with a 9.18 ERA in four starts against the Dodgers.
WALK-OFFS
1. Dodgers A.J. Pollock, who missed more than two months with an elbow infection, came off the 60-day injured list prior to Friday's opener in Boston and went 6-for-14 with two homers and six RBI in the series.
2. Phillies 3B Maikel Franco delivered a walk-off home run in Sunday's win and finished the weekend 6-for-10 with two home runs, lifting his batting average 13 points to .240.
3. Los Angeles clubbed eight homers in its sweep of Philadelphia and ranks second in the NL with 152.