NLCS Bracket 2022: Updated Dates, Times, Schedule and World Series Odds
To the boppers go the spoils.
Through two games of the 2022 NLCS, the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres are knotted at one win apiece, with the home run leader emerging victories both times out.
In Game 1, the Phillies were powered to a 2-0 victory by solo shots from Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, plus a lights-out pitching performance by Zack Wheeler. In Game 2, the Padres slugged their way to an 8-5 triumph as Manny Machado, Brandon Drury and Josh Bell all left the yard.
Will power bats continue telling the tale of this series? Or will pitching, defense and timely hitting tilt the scales in Game 3?
Let's take a deeper dive into this fight for the pennant by laying out the series schedule, examining the latest World Series odds (courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook) and previewing what's on deck for Game 3.
Series Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 18 | Phillies 2, Padres 0
Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 19 | Padres 8, Phillies 5
Game 3: Friday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 | Padres at Phillies
Game 4: Saturday, Oct. 22 at 7:45 p.m. ET on Fox | Padres at Phillies
Game 5: Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1 | Padres at Phillies
Game 6*: Monday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1 | Phillies at Padres
Game 7*: Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox and FS1 | Phillies at Padres
*if necessary
World Series Odds
Houston Astros: -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
San Diego Padres: +340 (bet $100 to win $340)
Philadelphia Phillies: +380
New York Yankees: +1000
Game 3 Preview
Both teams have reasons to feel good about Game 3.
For the Phillies, it's the fact they're back at home, where they've yet to lose this postseason. In fact, the Philly faithful barely even saw its squad sweat during the divisional round. The Phils won their two home games against the Atlanta Braves last series by a 17-4 count, and they had a 10-1 advantage in just the first three innings.
For the Padres, it's the fact Joe Musgrove is back on the bump. San Diego is 2-0 in his starts this postseason, and even that sells short his domination. He has allowed just two earned runs in 13 innings—and those came on a Freddie Freeman double that leaked through the infield. Musgrove, who pitched to a career-best 2.93 ERA this season, has 13 strikeouts in those 13 innings.
Philly will counter with Ranger Suarez, who has thrown once this postseason to underwhelming results. In Game 4 of the NLDS, he lasted just 3.1 innings. While he only allowed one earned run, he walked five batters.
Both pitchers can be dominant, but doing so on Friday will require cooling off some red-hot hitters. Phillies slugger Bryce Harper is riding a seven-game hitting streak, during which he's batting a wholly absurd .464 with four homers and four doubles. As for the Padres, Manny Machado and Trent Grisham have three homers apiece and six combined multi-hit efforts this postseason.
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