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The Dodgers celebrate defeating the Cincinnati Reds 8-4 in Game 2, winning their National League Wildcard Series at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
(Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Philadelphia Phillies, here they come<\/a>.<\/p>\n The National League\u2019s most dangerous and determined team, here they are.<\/p>\n Bryce Harper, good heavens.<\/p>\n Kyle Schwarber, dear Lord.<\/p>\n That deep rotation. That fiery closer. That nutty crowd! And, oh, that damn history.<\/p>\n Barely two weeks ago, the Dodgers hosted the Phillies with a chance to sweep them and steal a first-round bye. They were, instead, battered like an old broom<\/a>, the bullpen blowing two games and the Phillies eventually finishing with the National League\u2019s second-best record and that first-round vacation.<\/p>\n The Dodgers were penalized by having to play these two games against the Reds. And as a reward for their sweeping success, they have been sentenced to travel to Philadelphia for a best-of-five division series beginning Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.<\/p>\n A place that attracted 27,000 this week just for a workout, incidentally.<\/p>\n It says here, if the Dodgers can defeat the favored Phillies, that clears their path to a second consecutive World Series championship, as no other remaining team has the matching juice.<\/p>\n But, in a short series, with Philadelphia\u2019s pitching fully rested and its injuries mostly healed, can the Dodgers really pull it off? They lost four of six to them during the regular season in which the Phillies, unlike many other teams, seemed completely unintimidated and fully up to the challenge.<\/p>\n The Dodgers say they\u2019re more than ready.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we can win it all,\u201d manager Dave Roberts<\/a> said. \u201cI think we\u2019re equipped to do that. We certainly have the pedigree. We certainly have the hunger. We\u2019re playing great baseball. And in all honesty, I don\u2019t care who we play. I just want to be the last team standing.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, if Wednesday\u2019s wipe-out win at rollicking Dodger Stadium was any indication, the Dodgers seemed prime for this upcoming brawl, their strongest October fists bared and ready.<\/p>\n Ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a> was not only good, he was resilient, working out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the sixth inning with a grounder and two strikeouts. He gave up only two unearned runs in 6 \u2154 innings with nine strikeouts, and he\u2019s clearly ready for the next step.<\/p>\n Other past autumn heroes are also heating up, namely Se\u00f1or October Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>, who had a running over-the-shoulder catch in left field and added two hits, two runs and an RBI. Is any Dodger more fun to watch in the postseason? Does any Dodger have more fun?<\/p>\n \u201cAt times it felt like we were kind of checked out during the regular season,\u201d said Hern\u00e1ndez. \u201cHere we are now and these are the games that really matter. … I think it was experience and age has a lot to do with it. We have a lot of young guys, but I think we have a very salty team.\u201d<\/p>\n Salty, and streaking, 11 wins in 13 games, impact plays Wednesday night from everywhere. Mookie Betts<\/a> had three doubles and four RBIs, Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez had a two-run double to offset a dropped fly ball.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, I know we can win the whole thing,\u201d Betts said. \u201cWe just have to play good baseball. We\u2019ve got to continue to pitch, timely hitting and play defense, and everything should be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n And of course Shohei Ohtani<\/a> singled and drove in a run. This is the same Ohtani who is lined up to start Game 1 Saturday in the NLDS in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n \u201cVery talented ballclub,\u201d said Roberts of the Phillies. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a fun environment. I think we match up really well with those guys. They\u2019re going to run a bunch of left-handers at us. Talented, all throughout the lineup. They got Trea (Turner) back. It\u2019s going to be a fun series.\u201d<\/p>\n The Phillies are in some way a mirror of past Dodger clubs, being one of baseball\u2019s best teams in recent years but yet to win a ring after three consecutive postseason failures.<\/p>\n Last season, they lost to the New York Mets in the division series, the previous season they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the championship series, and three years ago they lost to the Houston Astros in the World Series.<\/p>\n They\u2019re like the Dodgers before the Dodgers finally broke through. They\u2019re sick of the second guessing. They\u2019re fed up with the October failures. They\u2019re on a mission. And they\u2019re even more dangerous because they\u2019re on a mission for their two leaders.<\/p>\n Harper has a 1.016 OPS in 12 postseason series, but he has yet to win a ring.<\/p>\n Schwarber led the National League with 56 homers and 132 RBIs, but he\u2019ll never win an MVP as long as Ohtani is still working.<\/p>\n Their short-series rotation \u2014 Cristopher S\u00e1nchez, Ranger Su\u00e1rez and Jesus Luzardo \u2014 can at least compete with the Dodgers\u2019 top three. And then they have the secret October weapon that the Dodgers know so well \u2014 anybody remember Walker Buehler<\/a>?<\/p>\n The Phillies also did the one thing that past Dodger champions have done, but didn\u2019t do this summer. At the trade deadline, the Phillies went for it, acquiring Dodger targets outfielder Harrison Bader<\/a> and closer Jhoan Duran. Two months later, the Dodgers indeed could have used both.<\/p>\n Duran is their swing and miss. He\u2019s the closer they desperately need.<\/p>\n They were still searching for one late Wednesday. They tried starter Emmet Sheehan<\/a> in the eighth in a six-run lead and he was awful, walking two and giving up two hits while getting just one out. He was so awful, he was pulled in the middle of facing Will Benson even though the count was one-and-two. Alex Vesia completed the strikeout and survived the inning, but the boos rained steady.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/I_4iXhyB9JY\/hqdefault.jpg\")
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