Phillies Activate Two All-Stars Ahead of Key Series Against National League Rivals

The Philadelphia Phillies aren't messing around.

Hours ahead of their first game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies activated All-Stars Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber from the injured list. They'll bat third and first, respectively, in the first game of a three-game series pitting the top two teams in the National League.

The Phillies are 58-32. The Dodgers are 55-36. Both teams enjoy 7.5-game leads in their respective divisions through Monday.

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Harper hasn't played since June 27 because of a strained left hamstring. Schwarber coincidentally was felled by a strained groin the same day. Philadelphia went 5-4 without the two stars, who have combined for nine All-Star appearances in their careers.

The two will return to the lineup at a good time. Either the Dodgers or the Phillies have appeared in seven of the last eight National League Championship Series. The MLB postseason is notoriously unpredictable, and the July 30 trade deadline has the potential to alter the balance of power in the league between now and October.

As early-July series go, however, the Dodgers-Phillies matchup is the closest thing to a possible NLCS preview as the schedule can offer.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been hobbled by injuries lately themselves. Unlike the Phillies, they won't be able to activate several of their ailing stars — shortstop Mookie Betts, third baseman Max Muncy, or pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, or Clayton Kershaw — before leaving town Thursday.

Read more: Dodgers Place Two-Time All-Star on Injured List

At least with Harper and Schwarber back in the fold, the series will still feature several of the NL's best players.

Harper (first base), third baseman Alec Bohm, and shortstop Trea Turner are all slated to start the All-Star game on July 16 in Arlington, Texas. So is Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani; Betts, outfielder Teoscar Hernández, catcher Will Smith, and first baseman Freddie Freeman were all chosen as reserves.

Schwarber was not selected to this year's All-Star team, despite hitting 93 home runs over the last two seasons. His 17 home runs in 2024 rank seventh in the National League and are second to Harper among the Phillies.

Bobby Miller (1-1) will face the Phillies' Zack Wheeler (9-4) in the series opener Tuesday. Gavin Stone (9-2) goes for the Dodgers on Wednesday, opposite Christopher Sanchez (6-4) for Philadelphia. Aaron Nola (10-4) gets the ball Thursday while Los Angeles has yet to announce a counterpart.