An emphatic 8-2 victory has kept World Series hopes alive for the Phillies. Still, they need another win over the Dodgers to stave off elimination and force a Game 5. That won’t be easy, as Los Angeles wielded baseball’s fourth-best win-loss record at home this season. Can the visitors earn an upset win? Below, I’ve laid out my preview, prediction, and best bet for Thursday’s meeting between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Los Angeles is favored (-132) over Philadelphia, with the over/under set at eight runs. Let’s break down which side has the edge on DraftKings Sportsbook entering today’s contest.
Phillies vs. Dodgers prediction, preview
In this must-win matchup for Philly, it’ll be Cristopher Sanchez taking the hill. Despite his teammates blowing Game 1, the left-hander impressed on Saturday. Through 5.2 innings of work, he held Los Angeles to two runs while striking out eight. On his normal four days of rest, the All-Star is capable of handling a similar workload tonight. The Dodgers’ bats are no guarantee to go silent, however. LA notched a .764 OPS vs. southpaws, the league’s third-highest mark.
Philadelphia will have an all hands on deck approach to this contest. That means an inconsistent bullpen should get involved at the first sign of trouble. On Wednesday, the Phillies were able to silence Los Angeles, thanks primarily to Ranger Suarez. Manager Rob Thomson won’t have the luxury of bringing in an ace for relief duties tonight. Still, the Fightin’s posted a lackluster 4.25 bullpen ERA in 2025, sixth-worst in the National League. On two days rest, superstar closer Jhoan Duran could be used for multiple innings.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has also dealt with bullpen struggles throughout the season. In the playoffs, he’s turned several LA starters into late-game fireballers. That includes Tyler Glasnow; the 32-year-old tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless ball vs. Philly on Saturday. Now, he’ll get the chance to kick things off in Game 4. Over 90.1 innings, the oft-injured righty recorded a 3.18 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 10.6 K/9.
Philadelphia’s offense hasn’t been terrific thus far. However, they have managed to get some runs against Dodgers pitching. That includes an impressive three-run fourth inning against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 3. A similar output tonight would go a long way with a hurler such as Sanchez toeing the slab. A name to watch is Kyle Schwarber. The slugger, maligned for his performance this weekend, broke through with a two-homer showing last night. If he’s locked in, this becomes a far deeper, more dangerous lineup.
Phillies vs. Dodgers pick, best bet
In this series, we have yet to see a game in which both teams score more than three runs. It’s difficult to envision that occurring tonight when two terrific pitchers are on the mound. With a day of rest tomorrow, both squads should be willing to mix-and-match often. For some teams, that could pose a problem. However, Thomson and Roberts are two of the NL’s best managers. I’ll trust both skippers to navigate nine low-scoring innings on Thursday.
