NL West Rival Admits Dodgers Have 'Upper Hand' Over Them on Paper

Valentina Martinez | Apr 7, 2025

Apr 6, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández (37) watches his RBI sacrifice fly ]during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

From the starting rotation to the lineup, the Los Angeles Dodgers have arguably the best roster in baseball. That is no secret to teams around the league, including NL West rival, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Diamondbacks outfielder Randal Grichuk was candid when he spoke about the defending champions' advantage heading into the 2025 season.

“Do they have the upper hand on paper going into most series?” Grichuk said to the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro. “I would say yeah. But it's baseball. Any night anybody might be feeling not like themselves on the mound or in the box and literally anybody has a chance any night.”

Grichuk's remarks could not be more accurate as the Dodgers fell 8-7 to the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday. It was L.A.'s second loss of the season, and first series defeat of the year.

While the Dodgers certainly have a formidable roster, the game still has to be played. On Sunday, the Dodgers escaped a four-run deficit, but ultimately failed to finish strong.

“It’s two evenly-matched teams,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Two evenly-matched teams, good series, and we just didn’t do some fundamental things well today, whether it be on the pitching side, on the defensive side, the base running side, to give us a chance to win a series.”

To Grichuk's point, right-hander Tyler Glasnow did not look like himself on the mound against the Phillies. Once it started raining, Glasnow lost his aggression and could not regroup in time. The right-hander loaded the bases in the third inning, and the Dodgers deployed Alex Vesia.

On his first pitch, Vesia gave up a grand slam to Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos.

"We put ourselves behind the 8-ball today," Roberts said. "They made plays when they needed to."

While the Dodgers have the upper hand in most series, the defending champions could not come out unscathed in Philadelphia. L.A. will look to bounce back against the Washington Nationals Monday.

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For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.