The Phillies have their work cut out for them in handling the Dodgers’ starting rotation and lineup. One area in which they hold the advantage is the bullpen.
That statement would’ve sounded absurd a week or two into April. And it’s still not a cavern separating the two, which both posted a 4.27 ERA in the regular season. But since Aug. 1, the Dodgers rank 21st — second-worst among playoff teams — in bullpen ERA at 4.34. The Phillies are 11th at 3.81.
It’s an arbitrary cutoff date for the Dodgers, but not the Phillies, whose acquisition of Jhoan Duran changed everything.