The 2023 MLB Postseason is set to kick off on October 3 with the Wild Card round. The Marlins and Phillies, two NL East division rivals, will take each other in a best-of-three in Philadelphia, with the winner set to head to Atlanta to face the Braves this weekend. Here’s a preview of the NL Wild Card round matchup between the Marlins and Phillies.

Related: When is the start date for the 2024 MLB Spring Training schedule?

Scheduled Starters and Start Times

• Game 1: Jesus Luzardo (Marlins) vs. Zack Wheeler (Phillies)
• Game 2: Braxton Garrett (Marlins) vs. Aaron Nola (Phillies)
• Game 3: TBA vs. TBA

All games are set to air at 8:08 PM ET on ESPN.

A Look at the Offenses

Runs Scored	668	796
Home Runs	166	220
OPS	.722	.765
Whiff%	24.5%	27.2%
Hard Hit%	38.1%	40.7%

The Phillies have a clear advantage on paper when it comes to offense. Philadelphia ranked in the top ten in most offensive categories and several of their top hitters have gotten hot in the second half.

Outfielder Kyle Schwarber belted 25 home runs in the second half, which tied him with Matt Olson of the Braves for first in the Majors. Bryce Harper got back into a nice groove after the All-Star break as well, ws Harper belted 18 of his own and sat in the top 15 of the league in that category. As for Trea Turner, the star shortstop overcame a rough first half by hitting 16 home runs and a .902 OPS in the second.

The Marlins offense isn’t as daunting, although the power of Jorge Soler and Jazz Chisholm Jr. looms. The big question for Miami, though, is how Luis Arraez will perform in the NL Wild Card round. Arraez proved to be a catalyst atop the Marlins lineup in 2023, but the Marlins did not have him available for much of the final weeks thanks to an ankle injury. He is expected to play in Game 1.

A Look at the Pitching

Starters’ ERA	4.10	4.30
Relievers’ ERA	4.37	3.56
Strikeouts	1,490	1,454
Opponents’ AVG	.246	.240
Chase%	30.4%	30.8%

This is where things will get very interesting. Both teams do have strong pitching staffs on paper, but the Marlins won’t have Sandy Alcantara or Eury Perez available for the MLB Postseason. Thus, left-handers Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett will have their hands full against a Phillies lineup that did rank 11th in the Majors in wRC+ against lefties despite the presence of numerous power-hitting lefties.

The Phillies, on the other hand, will hope that Aaron Nola can look more like the righty from 2022. Nola pitched very well in the first two rounds of the postseason last year, as he threw 12.1 innings in the Wild Card and NLDS rounds without yielding an earned run. However, he gave up 14 earned runs over 13 frames in the NLCS and World Series.

Both teams have stout bullpens, which could mean that this series ultimately comes down to which troupe of relievers shuts down the door.

Our Predictions

The Marlins might be at a disadvantage in this series but don’t think that Miami can’t stay competitive in this series. Miami’s young arms have been very good this year, and have the ability to steal at least a game, if not the whole series.

However, the Phillies should come out on top of this series. Philadelphia’s got the power to overwhelm the Marlins both at the plate and on the mound.