For the Philadelphia Phillies in Los Angeles, it’s a do-or-die moment. And all eyes are on Harrison Bader, the $6.25 million outfielder, who has been sidelined with a groin injury since Game 1 of the highly anticipated series. And while fans were hoping that he would be ready to go for this crucial Game 4 against the Dodgers, he won’t be.

So, for now, it is a familiar lineup for the Phillies. The same crew that helped get that 8-2 win in Game 3. Brandon Marsh will take over in center field again, Max Kepler in the left, and Nick Castellanos will be in right. Bader’s absence, though, is a huge setback for the Phillies, given how valuable he has been since he joined the team at the trade deadline.

In just 50 games, he has hit .305 with a .361 on-base percentage. Shows why the Phillies trust him to hold the fort down in center field. Manager Rob Thomson confirmed that Bader won’t be back in today’s game, but if there is another one on Saturday, he would be.

Rob Thomson said, “We’re going to shoot for Saturday now. He’ll probably play the same role today that he has the last couple of days.” Now he is available to pinch-hit and will probably be in that same role. This does highlight the immediate loss for the Phillies, but it is also a no-brainer that the outfielder could rejoin the starting lineup soon. However, the problem now goes beyond the offense, right—it’s the defense too.

When healthy, Bader ranks among the league’s elite with 7 Outs Above Average. Compare that to Castellanos, and he sits at the opposite side of the spectrum at -12. That’s a gap that one can’t ignore, and not especially when one is going to an all-important game. Meanwhile, the Phillies will hand the ball to Christopher Sanchez, and that might just be their saving grace now. Given that opposite him Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow is starting.

Sanchez has performed extremely well this season, and his Game 1 antics with eight strikeouts over 5⅔ innings and allowing just two runs are promising. Glasnow, meanwhile, has had it rough—so the Phillies can use that as a weapon. Sure, the margin for error for the Phillies is razor-thin, but the odds are not all stacked against the Philadelphia Phillies- you can’t forget Kyle Schwarber’s out-of-the-stadium dinger. 

Mookie Betts defends Kershaw after a tough night in Game 3 loss to Phillies

Clayton Kershaw had one of those nights every baseball fan dreads, and that every pitcher would want to forget. The Los Angeles Dodgers legend struggled royally in Game 3 of the NLDS and gave up key hits that cost Los Angeles a chance to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies. The 8-3 loss was their first of the postseason, and suddenly, the NLCS ticket that seemed within reach seems a little far away now.

But even before the critics could pinpoint the errors, Mookie Betts came through for his teammate. Betts said, “We can’t use two innings. He’s going to have a statue in front of Dodger Stadium. Kershaw is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. One of the best pitchers to ever do it. If you let two innings ruin that, then you don’t know baseball.” And well, he is right—Kershaw’s resume does speak for itself. He has three Cy Young awards, an MVP, and more than a decade of dominance in the game.

So for sure, a bad night doesn’t erase everything he has earned till now. However, in Game 3, Kershaw entered the bullpen in the seventh with the Dodgers trailing 3-1. He managed to escape the bases-loaded jam, but he couldn’t dodge the trouble in the next innings. Realmuto launched a solo shot, and Trea Turner drove in two more, and then came Kyle Schwarber, who simply increased the gap by two more, and that ended the Dodgers’ chances to revive.

Kershaw, however, was calm and composed, saying, “That’s the great thing about baseball—there’s a game every day. Game 4, I’ll be ready.” Well, it remains to be seen if they can silence the Phillies, given they are red-hot; meanwhile, their starter seems questionable, and their bat, led by Shohei Ohtani, seems to be in an untimely slump.