Ex-Cardinal Hoping to Propel Los Angeles Dodgers Deeper into Postseason

The Los Angeles Dodgers are onto the next round of the 2025 MLB Postseason, and are one step closer to defending their World Series title. Failing to finish the regular season with one of the top two records in the National League, the Dodgers took part in the Wild Card round, but made quick work out of the Cincinnati Reds, winning both games in LA to advance.

And once again, a big reason why the Dodgers are still in it is because of former Stanford baseball star, Tommy Edman. Edman, who joined the Dodgers in a trade deadline deal last season after spending the first five and a half seasons of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, has become a major force for Los Angeles since joining the team.

In his first full season with the club this year, Edman hit .225 with 13 home runs with 49 RBIs while playing pivotal role as a utility player.

Sitting out of Dodgers' game two win over the Reds, Edman put on a show in the 10-5 victory in game one, going 1-for-3 but his one hit was a solo home run to give the Dodgers a massive momentum boost for the rest of the game.

But now, Edman and the Dodgers will look ahead to the NLDS, where they will need to get past the Philadelphia Phillies in order to advance to the NLCS. The Phillies may be the biggest obstacle between the Dodgers and making a second consecutive World Series.

But the Phillies are a team that Edman has struggled mightily against in his career, having only one career home run against them that came in April of this season. In 25 games against Philadelphia, Edman is hitting .212 with a .506 OPS, numbers that do not exactly jump off the page as the guy that will lead the charge.

Edman hadn't been a Mets killer entering last October either, but ended up with 11 hits and a key homer in the decisive Game 6 of the NLCS, which ended up earning him NLCS MVP honors a year ago.

Edman's ability to produce in big moments will certainly earn him opportunities in the NLDS, and regardless of what his role ends up being for the club in this series, he should have at least a few at-bats with guys on base that he can make a major impact in.

Over the course of his career, Edman has been known to become an even better player in the postseason, proving himself to be a core piece for the Cardinals any time they went on a playoff run of their own.

Overall for his career in the postseason, Edman is hitting .279 and while he only has three career postseason home runs (all with the Dodgers) and 17 RBIs (11 against the Mets last year), his ability to make contact with the ball and get on base have been huge.

Last year the Dodgers hit Edman fourth in the lineup in the NLCS, and while he isn't likely to be that high again in this series, LA will need production from the bottom of their order to have success in this series.

With the Dodgers the only team that won their series in two games, they will now enjoy a couple of days off before returning to the diamond for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday, Oct. 4. The first game will be in Philadelphia, with first pitch scheduled for 3:38 p.m. (PT). The Dodgers will be on the road for the first two games before returning home for games three and four.