By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Although the Philadelphia Phillies have not played a game since Sunday, Sept. 30 — and will not play another meaningful game until Opening Day in nearly 170 days — fans should still have some rooting interest in three of the club's former players very well in the hunt for a World Series championship.
Erik Kratz of the Milwaukee Brewers — along with Ryan Madson and Chase Utley of the Los Angeles Dodgers — all recently advanced one series further in the MLB postseason, as their teams in the National League Division Series respectively completed a 3-0 series sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, and a 3-1 series win over the Atlanta Braves on Monday.
King Kratz mic’d up for the final out. 🎤 pic.twitter.com/fSbvfZ1MJU
— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2018
Kratz, 38, has hit 5-for-8 this postseason against the Rockies, with a run scored and two RBI. The nine-year veteran caught a 4-0 shutout in Game 2, and a 6-0 shutout in the series-clinching Game 3, accounting for two-thirds of the Brewers' all-time postseason shutout victories.
As Beyond the Box Score notes, Kratz has been part of 11 MLB organizations since 2015. The Telford, Pennsylvania, native collected just 15 hits from 2015-2017 combined, before collecting 48 hits in 67 regular season games this season with the Brewers — his most action since playing in 68 games with the Phillies in 2013.
The #Brewers have three shutouts in the franchises postseason history. Two of them have been caught by Erik Kratz.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) October 8, 2018
On Friday, Kratz (38) became the oldest position player to make his postseason debut since the Philadelphia Athletics' Lave Cross (39) in the 1905 World Series.
Erik Kratz sees you, @Brewers fans pic.twitter.com/wsHJl9ZwFm
— FOX Sports Wisconsin (@fswisconsin) October 8, 2018
Madson, 38, made his 2018 postseason debut on Sunday, tossing two-thirds scoreless innings in the sixth inning. The 13-year veteran allowed a single to catcher Kurt Suzuki after striking out third baseman Johan Camargo on four pitches. Madson earned the win in the Dodgers' series Monday clincher, tossing two-thirds shutout innings spanning 10 pitches, while in relief of starter Rich Hill in the fifth. Madson has now appeared in 48 postseason games, allowing no runs in 36 of the appearances. Thirty-three of those 48 appearances came with the Phillies from 2008 to 2011.
Dodgers All-Star RHP Ross Stripling was left off the NLDS roster in favor of Madson, whose "fastball-changeup mix" was considered to "work well" against the Braves' young hitters, according to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.
Like Stripling, Utley, 39, was also left off the Dodgers' 25-man NLDS roster. Utley still remains with the club, however. The former perennial Phillies second baseman could still get one last look before his retirement. According to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, the Dodgers' Ross Stripling, Julio Urias and Josh Fields threw a simulated game to Utley, Austin Barnes and Kyle Farmer earlier on Sunday.
Chase Utley is back in Atlanta with a great message during BP: K cancer pic.twitter.com/uMq6tHYKjZ
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 7, 2018
It is worth nothing that former Phillies outfielder prospect Domingo Santana is also on the Brewers postseason roster. Santana never donned red pinstripes, however, as he was dealt to the Houston Astros in August 2011 as the player to be named later in the acquisition of Hunter Pence.
The Dodgers are now National League Championship Series-bound for the third straight season. Utley has been a member of the Dodgers for all three of those campaigns, joining the club via trade in August of 2015. Madson was dealt from the Washington Nationals to Los Angeles on August 31 of this season.
Kratz, Madson and Utley's teams will now face off in the National League Championship Series. At least one former Phillie will play either the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees in the Fall Classic.
