Major League Baseball

2023 MLB odds: Analyzing the Phillies' 'historic' playoff run

Updated Oct. 20, 2023 9:42 a.m. ET

Some MLB teams win with pitching, and others dominate with their hitting.

The Philadelphia Phillies are having a dominant postseason doing both.

Bryce Harper & Co. are 7-1 in the playoffs and hold a 2-0 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks, as the teams prepare for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday.

FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd, the host of "The Herd," has been impressed by the Phillies' dominance. They have outscored teams 46-13 this postseason.

"We're seeing something historic here. This is all-time stuff," Cowherd said. "You haven't seen baseball playoff pitching this dominant in the playoffs since the 1983 Orioles. The Phillies are now the best playoff hitting team since the 2000 Red Sox. And their OPS [on-base percentage plus slugging percentage] — baseball people love that — is the best since the 1932 Yankees."

Here are the latest odds for the Phillies to win the NLCS and the World Series:

NLCS

-1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)

WORLD SERIES

+110 (bet $10 to win $21 total)

The statistics show exactly how dominant Philadelphia has been.

When it comes to postseason pitching, the Phillies lead in ERA (1.39), strikeouts (73), opponents' batting average (.174) and walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP - 0.83).

On offense, they lead in hits (74), home runs (19), RBIs (46) and slugging percentage (.575).

"You are watching potentially the best playoff run ever," Cowherd said. " … The last two years in the National League playoffs, the Phillies are 17-3 and virtually unbeatable at home."

According to FOX Sports Research, the Phillies entered the season at +1600 to win it all.

They were at +3000 on May 1 and June 1. But after winning seven out of eight at the end of September, the Phillies were at +1200 entering the wild-card round and +500 entering the NLDS.

"This feels like the 2000 Yankees without the ring yet," Cowherd said. " … Big names, big power, power pitching, overwhelming — it's the highest run differential in an eight-game playoff span ever. So you are looking at complete, historical dominance.

"They could be a good team in analytics — I don't really know. But when I watch them, they jump off the TV. They're loud, they're brash and that home-field advantage feels very much like the ghost of Yankees Stadium. Teams like Arizona and Atlanta are absolutely unraveling, and I think it's great for the sport."

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