After a wild week and a half of postseason baseball down, the chase for the Commissioner’s Trophy continues with the proceeding round. Two Wild Card teams will battle it out for a chance to punch their ticket to the World Series. The Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres have been two of the most surprising playoff teams, giving baseball fans an NLCS matchup no one expected.

Both teams share more similarities than contrasts knocking out NL favorites to advance. The Phillies electric intensity proved to be overwhelming for the 2021 reigning Champions, knocking out the Braves in four games. Along with stellar pitching, a streaky offense, and the Rhys Hoskins bat spike heard around the world, the Phillies had all the momentum on their side. Philadelphia fired on all cylinders with their star player Bryce Harper getting in on the fun, having a slash line of .500/.529/1.063 during the NLDS. The Phillies snapped their postseason drought after not seeing playoff baseball since losing in the 2011 NLDS. After Philadelphia saw great success towards the end of the 2000’s winning back-to-back pennants in 2008 and 2009.

The Philadelphia crowd also proved why October baseball is unmatched. Ken Rosenthal reported the Philly faithful triggered noise notifications to his phone warning him of dangerous levels.

The Phillies were put up against one of the hottest teams in the National League. The Braves were coming off an 18-8 September while the Phillies went 11-14, and nearly missed the playoffs for the eleventh consecutive season. In the end, as baseball continues to prove, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The one-two punch of Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler could be a deadly combo, and along with a solid bullpen, the sky’s the limit for the city of brotherly love.

The 2022 Padres experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows. From acquiring one star in Juan Soto in one of the biggest trades in MLB history, to losing their other star in Fernando Tatis Jr. due to an 80-game PED suspension, San Diego saw it all. The Padres added more storylines to their unprecedented season by knocking out the rival Dodgers in the NLDS. San Diego busted playoff brackets eliminating two championship favorites in consecutive rounds with the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Diego is shining with an incredible rotation of Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, and Joe Musgrove. The rotation is living up to their potential being lights out against the Mets in the Wild Card round. All of the pieces have fallen together with Trent Grisham also revitalizing himself and having an incredible postseason. Josh Hader has figured things out at the right time as well, becoming the lockdown closer they expected him to be. Upon his acquisition, Hader struggled towards the end of the season but is now mowing down hitters.

This formidable Padres offense can cause damage with Juan Soto and Manny Machado spearheading the lineup. San Diego is looking for their first championship in franchise history with two pennants already under their belt in 1994 and 1998.

All in all, we should be treated to an extraordinary NLCS round.