PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies snapped a six-game slide on Sunday against the Red Sox with a 6-1 victory. After an off day Monday, they will be facing the Toronto Blue Jays, who just swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in three games over the weekend.
It’s no small task for the Phillies, who are currently in fourth place in the National League East with a record of 16-19 and are eight games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves. It’s a short two-game set, and afterward, the Phillies head out west to face the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants before returning home to face the Cubs.
It would be a big boost for the Phillies to take both games of the series, and on the latest episode of Locked On Phillies, host Connor Thomas discussed who needs to step up for Philadelphia in this series.
Thomas isn’t exactly looking past the Blue Jays, but he is looking ahead at the series coming up for the Phillies, saying, “The Philadelphia Phillies have a real opportunity, not in this series necessarily because the Blue Jays are pretty darn good in the AL East, even though the Rays are running away with that division. But when you look past the series, the next couple are winnable.” Thomas added, “If you sweep the Blue Jays, or even if you split or not get swept, you can build momentum for when you face the Rockies and the Giants.”
Even though it’s a short, two-game set, both pitching matchups are top-notch. The first game on Tuesday night is Aaron Nola vs. Alek Manoah. Now, their 2023 numbers aren’t what you’d expect from either pitcher; Nola is 2-2 with a 4.64 ERA, while Manoah is 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA, but they’re still two of the better pitchers in Major League Baseball, and both can shut down opposing teams when they are on.
Thomas wants Nola to repeat his performance against Houston from back on April 28 when he faces the Jays. He lasted eight innings in that game, his best start of the season, and held Houston to one run on three hits while striking out six and not walking anyone—the one run was a Jeremy Peña solo shot.
As for the Phillies lineup against Manoah, Thomas says they must be patient and make him go to work.
On Wednesday, it will be Zack Wheeler going up against Kevin Gausman. Wheeler is 3-2 with a 4.26 ERA, while Gausman is 2-3 with a 3.86 ERA. All four starters have similar numbers and you can look at either lineup and think, 'This guy is definitely going to dominate."
But, Thomas is predicting a split in the two-game set, with Zack Wheeler picking up the win. He wants both starters to step up in this series because that’s what the Phillies have been missing this season. Matt Strahm is their only starter with an ERA under three so far in 2023, who is 2-3 with a 3.14 ERA. Taijuan Walker is 3-2, and his ERA is 5.97, but he had a strong start against the Red Sox on Sunday, which snapped their losing streak. And poor Bradley Falter has started seven games and is 0-6 with a 5.75 ERA. He gave up five runs in only three and two-thirds innings on Saturday against Boston.
The starting pitching has been a problem for the Phillies all season, and before their much-needed win on Sunday, the Phillies starters had a six-start streak in which they allowed four-plus runs; according to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the first time Phillies’ starters have done that since another six-game stretch from Sept. 1-7, 2015.
So if the Phillies starters can build off Walker’s six-inning, one-run performance on Sunday against the Red Sox, maybe they can start a streak in the other direction and rattle off a few wins starting with the Blue Jays tonight.
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