For the upcoming National League Division Series, the Philadelphia Phillies are considering an unusual pitching strategy. With Zack Wheeler out for the season and Aaron Nola recovering from injuries, manager Rob Thomson announced that left-hander Cristopher Sánchez will start Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is likely that fellow left-handers Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo will follow in Games 2 and 3, though Thomson has not officially confirmed this.
This approach is rare in Major League Baseball postseason history. The last team to use three consecutive left-handed starters to begin a playoff run was the 2009 Phillies, who started Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and J.A. Happ in their first three games of the NLDS.
Thomson commented on the decision: “Luzardo is more of a power guy and Ranger is more of the finesse guy,” he said. “I think it’s kind of two different guys, so it’s not like we’re pitching the same guy back to back. I’m comfortable with that.” He added, “If that’s what we do.”
The differences among Sánchez, Suárez, and Luzardo go beyond being left-handed pitchers. Sánchez relies on a fast sinker averaging 95.4 mph and an effective changeup rated highly by Statcast’s run value metric since last season. Luzardo also throws hard—his four-seam fastball averages 96.5 mph—but his best pitch this year has been his sweeper, which held opponents to a .178 average and produced a high whiff rate. Suárez uses a slower sinker at about 90 mph and depends on precise location and a varied mix of pitches.
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto noted: “I think our lefties are pretty drastically different in the way they pitch and the stuff [they have]. They all use different pitches. They all throw different velos. I know they’re three lefties, but we’ll be attacking their hitters all differently with all three of them. I don’t think that’s a challenge.”
On the other side, this strategy faces challenges because Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman are both left-handed hitters who perform well against left-handed pitching. Ohtani posted an OPS of .898 against lefties this season while Freeman had an .855 OPS; both rank among the top four for left-handed hitters facing southpaws in MLB.
Realmuto addressed this point: “Obviously, two of their best hitters are left-handed,” he said. “And they’re very good against lefties, but they’re elite — elite — against right-handed pitching.”
Overall, the Dodgers have been one of baseball’s most productive teams versus left-handed pitchers this year—they hit 70 home runs off southpaws (tied for most in MLB), ranked second in slugging percentage (.446), and third in OPS (.764) against them among all teams.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts commented: “Our lefties do a good job of being able to use the whole field, to be able to handle the spin, fight off the velocity,” he said. “So yeah, I think that we’re really equipped to handle left-handed pitching or right-handed pitching. We’ve got a really talented lineup, too.”
