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The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies will begin their best-of-five Division Series on Saturday. The Dodgers completed a two-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Series to advance to this point. The Phillies, meanwhile, earned a first-round bye by virtue of having the National League’s second-best record. 

The Dodgers (+420 on FanDuel) and Phillies (+500) are currently the owners of the best World Series title odds, and whoever prevails in this best-of-five series will advance to the NLCS, where they’ll play for the pennant.

Phillies vs. Dodgers schedule

Game 1

Sat., Oct. 4

6:08 or 6:38 pm ET

TBS

Game 2

Mon., Oct. 5

TBD

TBS

Game 3Wed., Oct. 7TBDTBSGame 4 (if nec.)Thur., Oct. 8TBDTBSGame 5 (if nec.)Sat., Oct. 10TBDTBSPhillies vs. Dodgers: Game 1 infoTime: 6:08 or 6:38 p.m. ET | Date: Saturday, Oct. 4Location: Citizens Bank Park — PhiladelphiaTV channel: TBS | Live stream: HBO MaxStarting pitchers: Christopher Sánchez (PHI) vs. Shohei Ohtani (LAD)Odds: Phillies -126, Dodgers +108 | O/U: 7
Game 1 storylines

Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani will make his postseason pitching debut in Game 1. Ohtani never reached the playoffs with the Angels, and he spent last fall in a hitting-only role following elbow surgery. He slowly but surely built up his pitch count since returning to the mound in June, and his last time out saw him throw 91 pitches. Coincidentally, Ohtani faced the Phillies in his penultimate regular season start, tossing five no-hit innings and punching out five of the 16 batters he faced.

Phillies: The Phillies, who are without ace Zack Wheeler following thoracic outlet decompression surgery, will turn to left-hander Cristopher Sánchez in Game 1. He was one of the best pitchers in the majors during the regular season, and he faced the Dodgers in his third-to-last outing of the year. In that appearance, Sánchez surrendered four runs on seven hits in seven innings of work. 

Series odds, predictionSeries odds (via FanDuel): Dodgers -112 | Phillies -104

This is as good as a Division Series gets. There are nearly 200 regular season wins between the clubs, and each was a popular pick to win the NL pennant. I had happened to pick the Dodgers to reach (and win) the World Series, meaning I have to take Los Angeles here. My hope is that this one goes the distance and we get five compelling, top-notch games along the way. Dodgers in 5.Â