Dodgers face real test in retooled Phillies

Here's nine reasons their NL Division Series opponent is considered main roadblock on way to pennant

- BY JACK HARRIS

ISAIAH VAZQUEZ Getty Images SLUGGER KYLE SCHWARBER had arguably his best season, producing 56 home runs and 132 RBIs.

All due respect to the Cincinnati Reds. But the Dodgers' first real test of their World Series title defense is about to begin this weekend.

After advancing past the plucky Reds and their 83win roster in a best-of-three wild card series this week, the Dodgers will now face a true powerhouse in the bestof-five National League Division Series, matched up against a Philadelphia Phillies team facing unfinished business in the postseason.

For years, the Phillies have been building toward contention. In each of the last four years, they've reached the playoffs while increasing their regular-season win total.

However, the club's recent October history has been filled with one disappointment after another: A loss to the Houston Astros in the World Series in 2022. An upset defeat at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NL Championship Series. A four-game elimination by the rival New York Mets in last year's NLDS.

The hope this year, coming off a 96-win regular season that gave the Phillies a first-round bye and homefield advantage in this NLDS, is that they finally have the path and the pieces to get over the hump. That, almost two decades removed from the franchise's last World Series, they can climb baseball's mountaintop once again.

That was evident during the bye week, when the Phillies sold more than 25,000 tickets for fans to come watch a practice. It will be obvious Saturday night, when the series begins at what will be a raucous Citizens Bank Park.

to Ahead of Game 1, here are nine things to know about the Phillies, and the concerns they present to the Dodgers in this NLDS:

A rotation of southpaws