The Phillies and the Padres are tied 1-1 at the end of the first two games of their series in the NLCS. What does this mean for the Padres? The Phillies? And most importantly, what about the series?

Before making any predictions for the series, it is essential that the pitching game is examined.

Ranger Suarez is the starting pitcher in game three for the Phillies. Looking back, he didn’t live up to expectations when he made his first postseason start in the National League Division. Against the Braves, he walked five batters. Focusing on his starts against the Padres as well as the Braves, fans can tell he is not a strikeout pitcher.

For the Padres, Joe Musgrove being the starting pitcher gives them an advantage. He has preformed well during his first playoff starts as he has only allowed two runs scored.

To compare their ERA’s, Musgrove’s is 1.38, while Suarez a 2.70 respectively. Suarez is pushing the 3.00 mark which is risky compared to his competition.

Also intimidating for the Phillies is that Musgrove’s postseason ERA is significantly lower than his regular season ERA. During the season it was upwards of 2.93. Now during the postseason, as established earlier, it’s at a stellar 1.38.

The Padres have the Phillies beat in their pitching game, but this is not to say that the Phillies are to be left in the dust.

On the offensive end, it’s obvious from previous games in the series that the Phillies know how to earn runs. They have been averaging 4.88 runs per game, which is in fact the most that any postseason team has ever had. However, this doesn’t mean that the Padres are to be overshadowed.

As seen in game two of the series, the Padres came back with a five run scoring streak. It spanned over the course of eleven batters, proving that the Padres have game at the plate.

Not only did the Padres come back from a 4-0 deficient in the fifth, but they came out on top with an 8-5 win over the Phillies.

Now Philadelphia returns home, where they took both of their wins over the Atlanta Braves and claimed their spot in the National League Championship Series. The Padres, being on the road, have a record of 3-2 during the postseason. Time will only tell what is next for these two teams.