Updated July 21, 2026
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies meet for the second game of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night, and this one comes with a major matchup on the mound. The best record in baseball rolls into Philadelphia off a rough Monday loss, while the Phillies hand the ball to Zack Wheeler, arguably the hottest arm in the National League since his return from thoracic outlet surgery. With the Dodgers dropping the series opener 10-7 behind Trea Turner's two-homer outburst, Los Angeles will look to its bats for a bounce-back while the Phillies try to steal the series behind their ace right-hander.
Wheeler has been dominant since coming back from surgery, sitting on a 2.13 ERA, and he just tossed six scoreless innings against Detroit his last time out. Justin Wrobleski is having a good season in his own right, entering with an ERA under 3.00. But the lefty could struggle with the big right-handed bats of Philly, led by a red-hot Turner and a locked-in J.T. Realmuto.
Los Angeles still has more than enough thunder in its lineup to make this competitive, and Shohei Ohtani has been swinging a hot bat over his last 10 games. But with the Dodgers coming off a lopsided loss and needing length from a bullpen that has already absorbed extra innings this week, Philadelphia gets the edge on the mound and in our modeling.
__PAYLOADIMG0__
Total Parlay Odds: +575
The reasoning here is straightforward. Wheeler has racked up strikeouts and should do so once again, against a Dodgers lineup that will see steady diet of pitches down in the zone, and he has topped 6.5 punchouts in the bulk of his starts since returning from injury. Schwarber leads MLB in home runs with 33 on the season, and Citizens Bank Park remains one of the friendliest parks in baseball for left-handed power. Stack that with a Phillies win off their ace, and this parlay captures the full picture of how Tuesday could play out.
Pick: Kyle Schwarber to hit a home run (+215 via DraftKings Sportsbook)
Schwarber has been the most consistent power source in the sport all year, and 33 home runs through mid-July puts him on pace for a career year. He is hitting .251 and has already gone deep against the Dodgers earlier in 2026. Citizens Bank Park continues to favor left-handed pull power, and Schwarber's raw exit velocity and current form make him the most reliable source of power on the board tonight.
Category | Los Angeles Dodgers | Philadelphia Phillies |
|---|---|---|
Batting Average | .260 | .237 |
OPS | .773 | .707 |
wOBA | .338 | .309 |
wRC+ | 113 | 92 |
Team ERA | 3.56 | 4.24 |
xFIP | 3.88 | 3.58 |
The numbers back up what the mound matchup already suggests. Los Angeles still owns the more well-rounded roster from top to bottom, but Philadelphia's ace on the hill tonight is enough to close that gap for this game, and the market agrees. Expect the Phillies to win a second straight over the Dodgers in this possible NLCS preview from Citizens Bank Park.
Affiliate DisclosureATS.io uses affiliate links. If you sign up through a link on this page, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Rankings are based on hands-on testing and published criteria, and affiliate relationships do not determine placement.
