(Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies will battle for the right to represent the National League at the World Series when the best-of-seven NLCS gets underway on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.

Los Angeles is back in the NLCS for the eighth time in team history, but this is its first time back since its classic seven-game win over the New York Mets en route to its last world championship in 1988.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, is in this round for the seventh time, but will be making its first trip since 1993 when it topped Atlanta in six games.

After getting swept in the NLDS last year by the red-hot Colorado Rockies, the NL East-champion Phillies made the most of their return, as they used some tremendous starting pitching and some timely hitting to get past the Milwaukee Brewers in four games.

Los Angeles was back in the postseason for the first time since getting swept by the Mets in the 2006 NLDS. The NL West-champion Dodgers set the tone in their matchup with the Chicago Cubs, winning the first two games at Wrigley Field on their way to a three-game sweep.

While Philadelphia scored in bunches in their series, the Dodgers put on a clinic in how to score runs in their whitewash over the Cubs. Los Angeles hit its share of home runs, four in all, but the Dodgers made Chicago pay every time it made a mistake.

Never was that more apparent than in Game 2, as four Cubs errors led to 10 Dodgers runs.

Each team won four games from one another in the season series, with each capturing a four-game sweep on their home turf.

These teams are also no stranger to one another in the postseason, having met on three other occasions. However, they have not met up in the playoffs since the Phils defeated the Dodgers, 3-1, to advance to the 1983 World Series.

Los Angeles, though, defeated the Phils the first two times these teams squared off in NLCS play.

LINEUP

If the Phillies are clicking on all cylinders there are few lineups, if any, that can produce the kind of runs they can. Unfortunately, though, the big bats of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley seem to have gone silent for the second consecutive postseason.

After going 2-for-11 in last year's sweep at the hands of the Rockies, Utley managed just two hits in 15 at-bats against the Brewers, while Howard was 2- for-11. Utley, though, had perhaps the biggest hit of Game 1, a two-run double that probably should have been caught by center fielder Mike Cameron.

Utley batted .355 with two homers against the Dodgers this year.

Shane Victorino, whose grand slam highlighted the Phillies' Game 2 win, and Jimmy Rollins, paced the offense hitting .357 and .375, respectively. Jayson Werth had a team-high 13 total bases and led the Phils with three runs scored, but also struck out six times in 16 at-bats.

The Phillies got by on some timely hitting, but still only managed to score in five of the 36 innings they played against Milwaukee. In the two games in which the Phillies did not hit a home run, they scored only four runs combined, one of which was the result of a bases loaded walk.

One player, though, that could be coming to life is left fielder Pat Burrell, who homered twice in Philly's Game 4 clincher. Burrell had been hitless in nine at-bats in the series, before his three-hit effort in the finale.

As he has been since he arrived in Los Angeles, Ramirez was the catalyst offensively for the Dodgers in their sweep of the Cubs. The 2004 World Series MVP hit .500 in the series with a pair of home runs and three RBI. Neither of his blasts were outcome changers, but Ramirez was on base the whole series, scoring five of his team's 20 runs.

The Dodgers hope Manny Ramirez can duplicate his numbers from last year's ALCS, when he hit .409 with a pair of home runs and 10 RBI for the Red Sox in their seven-game win over Cleveland. He is a lifetime .319 hitter in LCS play with 10 home runs and 23 RBI in 39 games.

Leadoff man Rafael Furcal showed no ill-effects of a back injury that cost him a good portion of the season, as he set the table batting .333 with four runs scored. Catcher Russell Martin also hit .308 and scored twice.

Cleanup man James Loney had just three hits in the series, but none were bigger than his grand slam in Game 1 that gave the Dodgers the lead.

The Dodgers will also need bounce-back series from Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, who hit a.154 and .100, respectively.

EDGE: EVEN

STARTING PITCHING

Cole Hamels put forth one of the best efforts of his career in his Game 1 NLDS start, as he held the Brewers to just two hits over eight scoreless innings, while striking out nine with a walk.

Hamels has only faced the Dodgers twice and is 1-0 against them with a 2.57 ERA. He defeated them back on August 23, surrendering a pair of runs and five hits in seven innings.

The Dodgers will send righty Derek Lowe to the hill in Game 1. Lowe was one of the best pitchers in the league down the stretch, winning six of his last seven decisions, and carried that into his Game 1 effort against the Cubs. Lowe earned the win, giving up a pair of runs and seven hits in six innings.

Chances are the Phillies could face Lowe three times this series. The lefty- heavy Phillies lineup has traditionally battered right-handed pitching. However, despite Rollins, Utley and Burrell all boasting averages better than .300 against Lowe, none of them has taken him deep.

Howard, meanwhile, is just 2-for-16 lifetime against him.

Lowe beat the Phillies the last time he saw them and is 4-1 against them with a 3.02 ERA in 11 games, seven of which have been starts.

Game 2's matchup will feature a pair of fireballers, as Los Angeles will send 16-game winner Chad Billingsley against Philadelphia's Brett Myers.

Billingsley, who struck out 201 batters in 200 2/3 innings this season, was brilliant in his NLDS start, holding the Cubs to a run and five hits in 6 2/3 frames. He was 16-10 in the regular season, but lost his only start to the Phils, yielding three runs and seven hits in six innings.

Myers gave up a run in the first inning of his start against the Brewers, but settled down after working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, giving up just one hit over six scoreless innings after that.

The book on Myers is to get him early, as 41 of the 96 earned runs he allowed this season came before pitch 31.

Philly will hand the ball to the ageless Jamie Moyer in Game 3, while Torre will go with Japanese righty Hiroki Kuroda. Moyer was uncharacteristically wild in taking his team's Game 3 loss, while Kuroda put the Cubs away with 6 1/3 scoreless innings.

The Phillies will then give the ball to Joe Blanton in Game 4. Blanton gave up a run and five hits in six innings of Sunday's clinching victory for the Phils, while striking out seven without a walk.

Should Torre opt to not pitch Lowe on short rest in Game 4, he will have to choose between 42-year-old future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux or 20-year-old lefty Clayton Kershaw.

Maddux pitched an inning of relief in the Dodgers NLDS series, while Kershaw did not see the field.

EDGE: PHILLIES

BULLPEN

Brad Lidge has made things interesting lately, but there was not a better closer in the National League this season. Lidge, of course, was a perfect 41- of-41 in save opportunities and recorded the final three outs in all three of Philly's NLDS victories, picking up two saves in the process.

Even without Lidge the Phillies had one of the best bullpens in the Senior Circuit in 2008, as evidenced by their 79-0 mark when leading after eight innings.

Right-handers Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey each won three or more games, while southpaw J.C. Romero is a tested veteran and Philadelphia's best option against left-handed hitters. Scott Eyre is another left-hander at Manuel's disposal.

Los Angeles was dealt a blow in early July when closer Takashi Saito went down with a strained ligament in his right elbow. Jonathan Broxton, though, filled in admirably, saving 14 games in 16 chances after that.

Saito, though, is back, but Torre will stick with Broxton as his closer the rest of the way. Broxton picked up a save in the sweep of the Cubs and did not surrender a run in 3 1/3 innings.

Righty Chan Ho Park has done a fine job for the Dodgers in the bullpen this season and will be joined out there by lefty Joe Beimel and righty Cory Wade. Don't be surprised if Torre decides to use the hard-throwing Kershaw in a big spot against either Utley or Howard.

EDGE: PHILLIES

MANAGERS

Torre, of course, is in the postseason for the 13th straight year after going to the playoffs the last 12 years with the Yankees. Only Bobby Cox, with 14, has a longer streak in baseball history (and no other manager has been there even six years in a row).

This is his eighth trip to the LCS and his 79 postseason victories are more than any manager in baseball history.

Manuel, meanwhile, is back in the postseason for the second straight year with the Phillies and his third time overall as a manager. Manuel also led the Cleveland Indians to an AL Central title in 2001, but his team lost in five games in the ALDS to Seattle.

EDGE: DODGERS

BENCH

One of the things that made Torre's Yankees so good during their championship run was the depth on their bench. Here in LA Torre has as deep a bench as he ever had with the Yankees.

Juan Pierre may not be able to hit a lick, but he can steal a base late in games and is still one of the best defensive center fielders in the game.

Plus he has a pair of proven veterans in Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciaparra.

The main reserves for the Phillies are Greg Dobbs, Chris Coste, Eric Bruntlett and Matt Stairs. Dobbs played in 128 games this season and can fill any vacancy on the field. He had nine homers, 40 RBI and a .301 batting average this season. Bruntlett filled in for Rollins earlier in the season and did a fine job, while Stairs came over from Toronto in August.

EDGE: DODGERS

PROGNOSIS

Before the playoffs started I picked Philadelphia to come out of the NL, so I have to stay with that, but I think they will have their hands full here. Normally Philly feasts on righties, but Lowe has kept them in the park over the course of his career. I think Lowe is going to be real good in this series, but I am not so sure about Billingsley and Kuroda. Chase Utley has to come alive and I think he will. He hit the Dodgers pretty well during the season and I expect him to come up big here. Also, look for a few Ryan Howard moonshots in the first two games of this series to set the tone. Philly is not going to make as many mistakes as Chicago did. Plus with a series win under their belt, they won't be as tight at the plate. Lidge will be shaky, but until he blows one you can't complain. It should be a great series, but the Phils are better from top-to-bottom.

Prediction: PHILLIES in SIX