The baseball world was excited about this matchup as soon as the playoff bracket was set. The NLDS between Los Angeles and Philadelphia was like a championship series, with two giants fighting for the title. The Dodgers are now ahead 2-0 after Blake Snell pitched six scoreless innings to help them win Game 2 at Citizens Bank Park by a score of 4-3. The excitement was unavoidable; whoever made it through this crash would have an easy time getting to the World Series. Right? No. One insider sees a completely different ending to this postseason.

ESPN insider Dan Mullen poured cold water on the hype about the Dodgers and Phillies. The Dodgers seem to be on their way back to the World Series after beating their biggest challenge with a championship-level performance. Still, Mullen pointed out weaknesses that still exist even with this power. The Milwaukee Brewers beat these “titans” 10-2 in the regular season, which showed flaws that make you wonder if either team has the consistency needed to get through October’s tough schedule.

Mullen stuck to his beliefs and said that neither Philadelphia nor Los Angeles would win the championship. “I’m going to play the percentages here and say someone other than the Phillies or Dodgers will be the last team standing,” Mullen declared. He turned his attention to American League teams that were ready to take advantage. The Toronto Blue Jays are now proving that prediction right. They are going into Game 3 against the Yankees with a 2-0 lead in the ALDS after winning the first two games at home by a combined score of 23-8.

The Mariners and Tigers each won one of their first two games by a very close margin. Detroit won 3-2 in 11 innings, but Seattle came back to win 3-2 in a very exciting game. The Tigers have the best pitcher in the world in Tarik Skubal. This makes them a tough team to beat in elimination games.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch Game 3 at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, when the Dodgers could eliminate the Phillies. However, Mullen’s percentages show that baseball is always changing. It’s not clear if the Dodgers will finish their expected march, but the Blue Jays’ 23-8 win and the Tigers’ determination make people doubt what they used to believe.

Yet the Los Angeles Dodgers appear poised to prove Mullen wrong, at least in the early rounds.

The Dodgers edge closer to the NLCS with a thrilling Game 2 victory

Los Angeles stands one win away from sweeping Philadelphia after delivering a nail-biting 4-3 victory on Monday night’s Game 2. The reigning World Series champions now hold a commanding 2-0 lead in this best-of-five National League Divisional Series. They can seal Philadelphia’s fate on Wednesday when the series shifts to Los Angeles, putting them within striking distance of another pennant run.

As the game turned into a real pitchers’ duel, the mood at Citizens Bank Park grew tense. Blake Snell was in charge of the Philadelphia lineup, striking out nine batters in six scoreless innings and making their hitters look foolish. Jesus Luzardo kept the score blank for six innings by matching him pitch for pitch.

“That was a heck of a game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the thriller. “Huge, huge momentum-maintainer. We’re looking forward to getting back home, but great ball game, great plays, and a huge win.” But when Luzardo finally broke down under pressure in the seventh inning, everything changed.

Teoscar Hernandez hit a single to start the rally, and Freddie Freeman hit a double to open the floodgates. The Dodgers took full advantage of the situation. Kike Hernandez’s ground ball brought in the first run, and then Will Smith hit a two-run single. Shohei Ohtani then added another hit to make it 4-0. With six outs left, the cushion looked impossible to break through.

Philadelphia did not want to give up easily. They scratched out a run in the eighth, and then they came back with a huge rally in the ninth that made the home crowd go wild. Nick Castellanos hit a double that scored two runs, making the score 4–3 with no outs. The Dodgers’ bullpen didn’t look very good, but they could get out of trouble thanks to some clutch defensive plays, like a great wheel play. Roki Sasaki got the last out, giving Los Angeles a strong hold on the series.