Atlanta Braves outfielders Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) Atlanta Braves Eddie Rosario (8) and Atlanta Braves Michael Harris II celebrate a win after the ninth inning in Game 2 of baseball's National League Division Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, in Atlanta. The Atlanta Braves won 3-0. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The National League Divisional Series is Back in Action Friday

Both games of the National League Divisional Series are back in action Friday. Both best-of-five series are tied at one apiece.

Braves vs. Phillies

Coming in as big underdogs in the playoffs, the sixth-seeded Philadelphia Phillies come in tied against the second-seeded Atlanta Braves.

Their 87-75 regular season record was good enough to secure the last NL wild card spot, where they would go on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round.

The Phillies took Game 1 of the series 7-6 in a nail-biter, but the Braves rebounded the next day with a 3-0 win.

Right-handed pitcher Aaron Nola gets the start at the mound for the Phillies. He is coming off a season where he posted a 3.25 ERA and 235 strikeouts. He played almost seven innings in the 2-0 series-winning game against the Cardinals on Saturday.

NL home-run-leader Kyle Schwarber has yet to get a hit in the playoffs. Look for him to possibly break out at Citizens Bank Park.

For the Braves, their 101-61 record was good enough to tie the New York Mets for the second-best record in the National League.

They have a strong unit of batters led by Austin Riley , Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson.

Rookie Spencer Strider will be the starting pitcher for the Braves. This will be his first postseason start in his young career.

The ball game in Philadelphia will begin at 4:37 p.m.

Dodgers vs. Padres

The Padres are also a team that is exceeding expectations in the playoffs. They hold the fifth seed after they went 89-73 in the regular season.

After defeating the Mets in the wild card round, San Diego fell to Los Angeles 5-3 in Game 1. They redeemed themselves the next day with a 5-3 win over the Dodgers.

Left-handed pitcher Blake Snell is supposed to start for the Padres. In the regular season, he had a 3.38 ERA and 171 strikeouts.

Third baseman Manny Machado’s strong performance in the regular season is showing in the playoffs. Just like the regular season, he leads the team in home runs, 2, and RBIs, 5, in the post season.

The Dodgers went 111-51 in the regular season. That helped them secure the bets record in the National League.

Their offense has been led by an impressive Freddie Freeman, who led the team in batting average, .325; RBIs, 100, and hits, 199. Mookie Betts has been stellar, too. He led the Dodgers with 35 home runs in the regular season.

Tony Gonsolin looks to have the start for the Dodgers. He finished the regular season with a 2.14 ERA and 16 wins.

Action at Petco Park starts at 8:37.

About Aileyahu Shanes

Journalism student at the University of Florida. Contributor for WRUF and WUFT. You can reach Aileyahu at a.markellshanes@ufl.edu or 786-316-5878.

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