Phillies vs Diamondbacks: Series preview, pitching matchups & players to watch

The Philadelphia Phillies have managed to exercise some of the demons they brought with them on their current road trip, suffering some brutal losses but finally starting to string some wins together again. Up next is a big test, a war of attrition against their postseason tormentors, the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Phillies will conclude their road swing with four games in the desert.

Phillies vs Diamondbacks: Tale of the tape

In the lead-up to this series, the D-Backs have been playing their best baseball of the season, rocking a 22-9 record since the start of July. Their offense has been cruising as of late despite injuries to Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno. They had a losing record less than 30 days ago but are now on pace to win several more games than they did last season. They’re only three games out from the lead in their division.

The Phillies, meanwhile, have seen their lead in the National League East shrink as they pile up losses. They still own the biggest division lead in MLB but they’ve gotten some help there from the likewise-down-in-the-dumps Atlanta Braves. Philly just snapped its season-long six-game losing streak and, prior to taking the last two games of their last series, didn’t win back-to-back games for almost a month. They could be the first NL team to win 70 games if they take care of business this weekend.

In their first series of the season, the Phillies let the Diamondbacks spoil Cole Hamels Night and then won the next two games. One of those wins came by a score of 12-1, tying their season-high margin of victory. Four games in enemy territory after six games across two different cities is a tough environment to come into. Yet the Phillies, after embarking on an epic losing skid, have left themselves with no choice but to pick up at least two wins before concluding the road trip.

Phillies vs Diamondbacks: First pitch times

First-pitch times for this series at Chase Field are scheduled for 9:40 P.M. EDT on Thursday and Friday, 8:10 P.M. EDT on Saturday and 4:10 P.M. EDT on Sunday. Those who hate staying up late to watch the Phils can rejoice because, after this series, there’s only one more regular-season game (Friday, August 23 @ the Kansas City Royals) scheduled to start after 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time.

Probable pitching matchups

With Ranger Suarez, Spencer Turnbull and Taijaun Walker still working back from respective injuries, the Phillies are still relying on some younger pitchers from their farm system to keep going.

Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are penciled in to pitch the second and third games of this series with Kolby Allard taking the first game. Orion Kerkering opened Allard’s last appearance against a RHH-heavy Seattle Mariners lineup but Arizona features a pair of switch hitters, MVP candidate Ketel Marte and Phillies killer Josh Bell, at the top of their lineup, so using an opener won’t really pay off. Leadoff hitter Corbin Carroll struggles against lefties like Allard, anyway.

Jordan Montgomery is expected to start for Arizona in the series opener on Thursday. Wheeler, who pitched eight scoreless innings in his last start, will likely duel with Ryne Nelson on Friday. In his first matchup against the D-Backs this season, he allowed just two hits and one run in seven innings.

On Saturday, Nola is expected to pitch opposite Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen, owner of a 3.75 ERA and a career-best home-run percentage of 1.9. Although each of Nola’s last four starts have seen him give up at least six hits, he has managed to prevent the floodgates from opening. The Phillies haven’t been good enough to win in the shootouts that Nola starts have been, a sign of the offense needing to pick it up more than anything. Still, a Nola putting the squeeze on the Snakes would be very helpful.

Cristopher Sanchez is penciled in to pitch the fourth game of the series. The Diamondbacks having to play a doubleheader in the final game of their last series may messed up their pitching plans. This is typically Brandon Pfaadt’s spot in the lineup but he would be on short rest after pitching 6.1 innings on Wednesday. Thus, Arizona may choose to either go with someone else or use him on a restrictive pitch count.

Matchup to watch: Ketel Marte vs. Bryce Harper

If the Diamondbacks somehow steal a top seed in the National League, Marte will probably win the MVP. Even in the likely event that they don’t, he’s going to show up on every ballot.

Marte has posted a .927 OPS, 80 RBI and 29 home runs in 110 games this season. He already has five home runs this month and is particularly damaging against lefties. Not since 2019 has the veteran second baseman played so well, tallying hit after hit and mixing in plenty of extra-base knocks. The Phils need to be careful with him.

Harper, seen as a great bet to win the NL MVP after winning NL Player of the Month awards in both May and June, was abysmal in July and has finally started to get back on track in August. The Diamondbacks’ first three starters of this series include two righties and a shaky lefty with an 8.39 ERA at home this season. This is as good of a time as any for MV3 to get his campaign back on track.

The Phillies need Harper to be Harper again. They’re getting great production from Kyle Schwarber (fresh off a three-homer game) and Nick Castellanos (.946 OPS over the last week) but don’t reach the point of being a scary lineup without Harper looming as a boogeyman to opposing pitchers. Starting by spooking the Snakes, the slugger needs to take a step toward superstar production again.

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports