Philadelphia and Los Angeles to meet in NL Championship series

While Boston and Tampa Bay fight for supremacy in the American League, over in the Senior Circuit two storied franchises will go at in the NLCS as the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers begin play on Thursday at Citizens’ Bank Park.

The LA Dodgers took advantage of the collapse of the Chicago Cubs, who won 100 games during the regular season and looked downright awful in the postseason. The Cubs were outscored 20-6 and were unable to take consolation from making the playoffs with a team that had aspirations of being a World Series competitor. The Dodgers, meanwhile, continued to get solid play from their veteran squad led by mid-season acquisition Manny Ramirez.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, had no trouble with the Cubs’ neighbors to the north as they defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in four games. The Phillies have shown a tendency over the past few years for excellent late season play, only this time they made it to the playoffs and hope to continue that trend when it counts.

Cole Hamels will be the Game 1 starter for Philadelphia, opposed by the Dodgers’ Derek Lowe. Game two will see the Dodgers’ Chad Billingsley hook up with the Phillies’ Brett Myers. Ageless Jamie Moyer—all 45 years of him—is penciled in as Philadelphia’s game 3 starter opposed by Los Angeles’ Hiroki Kuroda. Games 1&2 will be played in Philadelphia, with games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) out in Los Angeles. A sixth and seventh game would be back at Citizens’ Bank Park in Philadelphia should they be necessary.