The 2022 MLB playoffs are upon us after a long, hard season and we're down to the Championship Series to see who will compete in the World Series next month.
In the National League we're down to the final two teams, as the San Diego Padres will take on the Philadelphia Phillies for a chance to be crowned champions and take their place in the biggest baseball game of the year.
We'll break down the teams' seasons so far and how we expect the series to go to provide you with our best free MLB picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash for the weekend.
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San Diego Padres vs Philadelphia Phillies series information
- Game 1 - Tuesday October 18, Petco Park, San Diego - 20:03 ET
- Game 2 - Wednesday October 19, Petco Park, San Diego - 16:35 ET
- Game 3 - Friday October 21, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia - 17:37 ET
- Game 4 - Saturday October 22, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia - 19:45 ET
- Game 5 (if necessary) - Sunday October 23, Petco Park, San Diego - 14:37 ET
- Game 6 (if necessary) - Monday October 24, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia - 20:03 ET
- Game 7 (if necessary) - Tuesday October 25, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia - 20:03 ET
San Diego Padres season so far
The Padres had a strong season until they essentially collapsed in the middle of the season, which is probably the reason they're here in the post season.
They opened the season with a strong 14-8 record in April, overcoming a run of four defeats in five games to go on a streak of nine wins in the next 11 games to start. They followed that up with a 16-11 record in May but alternated wins and losses across a nine game run in the middle of the month. Then there was a five game win streak, before they lost five of their next seven.
The Padres then went 27-27 across June and July, before going 16-13 in August to get back on track. September was similar, going 13-12, before finishing off the season 3-2 in October.
That saw them end the regular season with a record of 89-73, finishing second behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
They faced off against the New York Mets in the Wild Card series in their first postseason games, winning the series 2-1 thanks to a 7-1 win in game 1 and a 6-0 win in game 3. The Mets beat them 7-3 in game 2 though, to show they're far from invincible.
Then in the division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers they came back from losing game 1 5-3 to win the next three games of the series 5-3, 2-1 and 5-3 to claim their place in this series and get one step closer to the World Series.
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Philadelphia Phillies season so far
The Phillies had a very clear beginning, middle and end of their season this year but they're seemingly peaking at the right time to make a real run at becoming champions of the world.
They opened the season in April with an 11-11 record, losing six of their first ten and going on a run that included a run of eight losses in ten midway through the month. Then May was horrid and they lost five of their first six and seven of their last eight to go 10-18 for the month.
June was a big turning point in their season as they went 19-8, winning ten of their first 11 of the month and then followed that up by going 15-10 in July and 18-11 in August for a total record of 52-29 over the summer months.
September saw them go 11-14, with ten defeats in their final 14 games of the month before closing out the regular season by going 3-3 on the road in October. That gave them a regular season record of 87-75 as they placed third in the National League East behind the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets.
The Wild Card series saw them ease past the St Louis Cardinals with a 6-3 and 2-0 win, before a division series against the Atlanta Braves saw them take a 3-1 win series with a 7-6, 9-1 and 8-3 win in games 1, 3 and 4.
MLB Picks - San Diego Padres to win the series
In a seven-game series, it comes down to pitching depth as to who will come out victorious.
Both teams have it, but on the balance of things it's the Padres that hold the advantage with players like Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and Blake Snell on their roster.
Plus, all three are experienced at this stage. I expect this to be a long series with a lot of good pitching. In the end, though, San Diego will advance past the Phillies because of their extra individual quality and the added experience at this level late on in the season.
MLB picks - San Diego Padres to win the series @ -116
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