We are just a couple rounds in and this has already been one of the craziest postseasons in recent memory. The National League has been especially bonkers, as every series has been won by the underdog thus far.

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As the dust settles, it will be the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres battling it out for a trip to the World Series. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how both teams got to the National League Championship Series.

Road To the 2022 National League Championship Series

For Philadelphia, they have won five of their first six postseason games. After sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card round, they took down their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves, three games to one in the Divisional Round.

The Phillies have won seven NL pennants in their history and they will be looking for number eight against the Padres. They are also looking for their third World Series Championship and their first since 2008.

As impressive as it was for Philadelphia to take down the defending World Series champions to get here, the road for the Padres might have even been more impressive. To get to the NLCS, they had to beat two teams that had a combined 212 wins this season in the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers.

After slaying the Dodgers, their NL West rivals, in the Divisional Series, they are now looking to make it to their first World Series since 1998 and hope to win their first one in franchise history.

MLB Odds

Phillies vs. Padres Preview for 2022 NLCS

With a strong offense and solid pitching, the Phillies could be a handful for San Diego. Philadelphia ranks seventh in the majors in scoring this year, averaging 4.64 runs per game.

The Phillies offense is led by Kyle Schwarber (46 HR, 94 RBI), J.T. Realmuto (22 HR, 84 RBI) and Bryce Harper (18 HR, 65 RBI). Harper has been especially hot in the playoffs, hitting .435/.480/.957 with three home runs and six runs batted in.

On the mound, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler make a lethal one-two punch. In the postseason, Nola is 2-0 and has allowed just one unearned run in 12.2 innings. For Wheeler, he is 0-1, but he sports a 2.19 ERA with nine strikeouts in 12.1 innings.

For San Diego, Trent Grisham has been the postseason superstar thus far. In 21 at-bats, he is hitting .381/.519/.810 with three home runs. During the regular season, Manny Machado (32 HR, 102 RBI), Jake Cronenworth (17 HR, 88 RBI) and Juan Soto (27 HR, 62 RBI) all had great years. During the regular season, San Diego ranked 13th, averaging 4.36 runs per game.

On the mound, the team has gotten great performances this postseason from Joe Musgrove (1-0, 1.38 ERA), Yu Darvish (2-0, 3.00 ERA) and Josh Hader (3 saves, no runs allowed).

MLB Picks

2022 NLCS Betting Lines

The San Diego Padres come into this series as slight favorites. They are -120 to win the series, while the Phillies are +100 to win it. Looking at the World Series, the Padres are currently +320 to win it all, while the Phillies are +340.

2022 NLCS Predictions

Both of these teams come into this series red-hot, but the Padres seem like the stronger bet. They have home-field advantage in this series and they had winning records this season both at home (44-37) and on the road (45-36).

For the Phillies, they were great during the regular season at home (47-34), but they struggled on the road (40-41). It is worth noting that Philadelphia went 4-3 against the Padres in their head-to-head match-ups this year, but the two teams also haven’t squared off since the end of June.

The Padres are lined up to have Yu Darvish on the mound at home when the series starts Tuesday night. Expect for the Padres to not only win the first game, but expect them to win the series as well.

Pick: San Diego Padres (-120)