LIVE on FS1: Padres-Phillies Game 5 FAQ, lineups
PHILADELPHIA -- For the first time since 2009, the Phillies sit one win away from a National League pennant following their 10-6 victory over the Padres in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.
In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams that take a 3-1 lead have gone on to win the series 77 of 91 times (85 percent). If the Phils win Game 5, they would become the 10th team under the 2-3-2 format to clinch a series by sweeping the middle three games at home.
“I didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves [Friday night] about being two games away,” Philadelphia first baseman Rhys Hoskins said. “But here we are with a chance to close out the NLCS at home.”
For the Padres, the road to winning this series now becomes significantly more difficult. However, they won three straight games against the Dodgers in the best-of-five NL Division Series. The most recent team to rally back from a 3-1 series deficit was the 2020 Dodgers against the Braves in the NLCS.
“I think we’re dangerous when our backs are against the wall,” San Diego right-hander Nick Martinez said after tossing three scoreless innings of relief in Game 4. “We’re up for the challenge. We show up. We’ve got to make sure we get it tomorrow.”
When is the game and how can I watch it?
Game 5 is LIVE on FS1.
All games are available in the U.S. on MLB.TV (authentication to a participating Pay TV provider is required). Live games are also available in select countries outside the U.S. For full details, click here.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Padres: Every run Yu Darvish (16-8, 3.10 ERA in the regular season) has allowed this postseason has come via solo home runs. He’s been mostly effective, posting a 2.84 ERA across three postseason starts. Darvish has thrown at least six innings in all but three of his outings this year. That could provide hugely valuable with San Diego in need of some length.
Phillies: Zack Wheeler (12-7, 2.82 ERA in the regular season) held the Padres to one hit over seven scoreless innings in Game 1, and the right-hander will look to replicate that dominance when he takes the mound at Citizens Bank Park for the first time this postseason. Going back to the regular season, Wheeler has a 1.05 ERA in six starts since returning from a month-long stint on the injured list on Sept. 21. That includes a 1.40 ERA in three postseason starts. His home postseason debut comes with a chance to send the Phillies to the World Series.
What might the starting lineups look like?
Padres: San Diego simply hasn't hit Wheeler, but it’s not like it has an array of left-handed options on its bench it can turn to. The Padres will run out a lineup similar to the ones they’ve used for most of the postseason against right-handed pitching, with Jake Cronenworth hitting cleanup and Brandon Drury manning first over Wil Myers.
1. Jurickson Profar, LF
2. Juan Soto, RF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
5. Josh Bell, DH
6. Brandon Drury, 1B
7. Ha-Seong Kim, SS
8. Trent Grisham, CF
9. Austin Nola, C
Phillies: With Darvish back on the mound for the Padres, the Phillies rolled out the same lineup they used against him in their 2-0 victory in Game 1.
1. Kyle Schwarber, LF
2. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
3. J.T. Realmuto, C
4. Bryce Harper, DH
5. Nick Castellanos, RF
6. Alec Bohm, 3B
7. Bryson Stott, SS
8. Jean Segura, 2B
9. Brandon Marsh, CF
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Padres: San Diego avoided using its two highest leverage arms in Game 4, meaning Josh Hader and Robert Suarez are wholly fresh at this point. Both could be expected to cover multiple innings, if necessary. They might have to, because the Padres used Martinez for nine outs and Luis García for five in Game 4. Tim Hill is available as the team’s top option against lefties in the middle innings.
Phillies: Despite getting only two outs from starter Bailey Falter in Game 4, the Phils not only rallied for a comeback win, but they did so without using either José Alvarado or Seranthony Domínguez. That means Philadelphia will have each of its top two relievers available -- possibly for more than one inning apiece -- behind its ace, Wheeler, in a potential NL pennant-clinching game. The only relievers who will likely be unavailable for manager Rob Thomson are Zach Eflin, who pitched each of the past two days, and Connor Brogdon, who matched a career high with 2 1/3 scoreless innings on Saturday.
Any injuries of note?
Padres: Profar is battling a nagging toe injury, but he has played through it all postseason. Still, manager Bob Melvin has at times opted to use José Azocar as a late-game replacement for Profar.
Phillies: The Phils are healthy.
Who is hot and who is not?
Padres: Machado is tied with Harper atop the postseason home run leaderboard with four, and he’s gone deep twice already in this series. Soto also homered in Game 4 and is starting to heat up. Meanwhile, the bottom of the Padres’ lineup, which carried them in the earlier rounds, has gone cold. Grisham and Nola have combined to go 0-for-16 over the past two games.
Phillies: After starting the postseason 0-for-16 with eight strikeouts through four games, Schwarber is 7-for-18 (.389) with three home runs, six walks, a .577 on-base percentage and a 1.466 OPS over his past six games. Harper has reached base safely in all 10 games this postseason and carries a nine-game hitting streak into Game 5. His four home runs are tied for the MLB lead this postseason, and his 1.311 OPS is currently the 11th best in a single postseason in AL/NL history -- and the highest since Manny Ramirez in 2008 (1.747 OPS). Since starting 1-for-18 with one double and six strikeouts in his first four postseason games, Hoskins is batting .261 (6-for-23) with four home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.103 OPS in his past six games.
Anything else fans might want to know?
• In Game 1, Darvish gave up a mammoth home run to close friend and former Cubs teammate Schwarber -- a 488-foot blast that was the longest homer at Petco Park since Statcast tracking began in 2015. Afterward, Darvish joked that he would have to punch Schwarber for taking him deep. But the two met on the field in Philadelphia and exchanged pleasantries with no punches thrown. Said Darvish, through an interpreter: “He gave me the gesture, but I kind of backed off, because he’s a pretty big guy.”
• Former Phillies All-Star Jayson Werth will throw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of Game 5. His home run in Game 5 of the 2009 NLCS helped lift Philadelphia to the NL pennant.
• The Padres have never rallied back from a 3-1 deficit. But they have come from behind by winning three straight elimination games in an NLCS. In 1984, they rallied from an 0-2 hole to beat the Cubs in a five-game series.