Tonight, at 8 pm ET, the San Diego Padres will host the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
The Padres are looking to return to the World Series for the first time since 1998 when the Tony Gwynn-led squad lost to the New York Yankees.
The Phillies, on the other hand, are also trying to return to the Fall Classic for the first time since 2009, when they also lost to the Yanks.
The teams are ready to take the field after eliminating heavy favorites for the title: San Diego knocked out the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Phillies took down the Atlanta Braves.
The Padres Roster Is Ready
The Padres announced their NLCS roster.
“The Padres’ NLCS roster is the same as their NLDS one. Three catchers again. With the potential for five games in five days (plus travel), former Phillie Jorge Alfaro could get a start behind the plate,” Padres insider Dennis Lin tweeted.
The Padres’ NLCS roster is the same as their NLDS one. Three catchers again. With the potential for five games in five days (plus travel), former Phillie Jorge Alfaro could get a start behind the plate.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) October 18, 2022
The roster includes five starters (Mike Clevinger, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and Sean Manaea), eight relievers (Josh Hader, Tim Hill, Adrian Morejon, Luis García, Pierce Johnson, Nick Martinez, Robert Suarez and Steven Wilson), three catchers (Jorge Alfaro, Luis Campusano and Austin Nola), six infielders (Josh Bell, Jake Cronenworth, Brandon Drury, Ha-Seong Kim, Manny Machado and Wil Myers) and four outfielders (José Azocar, Trent Grisham, Jurickson Profar and Juan Soto).
Austin Nola is still expected to be the starting catcher for the Padres, but with the tighter Championship Series calendar, they might rotate and start Alfaro for one game.
That’s the roster that bested the Dodgers in four games, and the one that has the entire city hyped about the possibility of a World Series title.
