The National League Championship Series is tied 2-2 and on Saturday the home-standing Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies will send their respective aces to the mound to try to break the tie in the series.
Philadelphia Phillies (-135, 8) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
The Phillies offense between the regular season and postseason is averaging nearly 5.7 runs per game since August 1 while their more than 1.9 home runs per game lead the league in this span and will look to take it to Zac Gallen in his most comfortable environment.
Gallen, who overall this season between the regular season and postseason has a 3.58 ERA with 9.2 strikeouts and 2.1 walks per nine innings this season, but has very demonstrative home and road splits.
Gallen has a 2.47 ERA at home with 0.6 home runs and 1.6 walks per nine innings issues along with 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings while registering a 4.49 ERA on the road with 1.2 home runs and 2.6 walks per nine innings allowed with 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Phillies counter with Zack Wheeler getting the start on the mound, who will be backed by the better bullpen with Diamondbacks 18th in post-All Star Break ERA entering the playoffs while the Phillies were third, though both teams pitched nearly their full allotments of bullpen pitchers in Game Four on Friday.
Wheeler between the regular and postseason has been at his best on the road with a 3.14 ERA on the road with 0.66 home runs per nine innings allowed compared to a 3.88 ERA and 1.2 home runs per nine innings allowed at home.
Between the regular season and postseason, the Phillies have not been quite the same on the road as they have been at home with a 55-32 home record between the regular season and playoffs compared to a 42-43 record away from home and with the way Gallen has performed at home this season, the Diamondbacks will move to 4-0 in home playoff games in 2023.
The Play: Diamondbacks +114
