Phillies Welcome Tampa Bay for 3 Game Set

The Philadelphia Phillies have finally awakened from their mid-summer slump. Tonight, they begin a crucial six-game homestand with a series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Although they only split their last series with the Miami Marlins, dropping the final two games, the Phils have some momentum going into their homestand. They just ripped off six wins that included some gutsy victories and their highest-scoring game of the season, when they clobbered the Marlins 16-2. Their lead in the NL East is back up to seven games.

Despite being sellers at the trade deadline, the Rays have managed to stay competitive, entering this series with a 71-72 record and five wins in their last 10 games, including a series win on the road against the Baltimore Orioles. Yandy Diaz is still hitting well and top prospect Junior Caminero has been decent but Tampa Bay shouldn’t be very tough to beat, even if the squad also isn’t a pushover.

All three games of this series are scheduled to begin at 6:40 P.M. EST at Citizens Bank Park. While the Phillies try to find a solution at the fifth starting position in their pitching rotation, they’ll send their trio of All-Star starters to the mound in each contest against their 2008 World Series foe.

Probable starting pitchers

To begin the series, Cristopher Sanchez is slated to duel Cole Sulser. The former is fresh off a start that went seven innings and allowed just two runs. The latter, entering his fourth game for Tampa Bay, will be used again as an opener. Tyler Alexander pitched the bulk of the relief innings after Sulser’s last start, so he could likely be the pitcher that the Phillies see the most of. Sulser has yet to allow a run in 5.2 innings with the Rays this season.

On Tuesday, Ranger Suarez will start opposite of Taj Bradley. Suarez hasn’t completed six innings in any of his last four starts but has only allowed multiple runs once in that span. His opponent is an example of how much worse it could be, though. Bradley is exemplary of the Rays’ dire need for big-league pitching. He has a 9.20 ERA over his last six starts, allowing 31 runs over 30.1 innings. That could easily disqualify him from the rotation but the Rays are having the 23-year-old work through his struggles.

Zack Wheeler is set to close the series against Shane Baz. As he tries to chase down Chris Sale in the Cy Young Award race, Wheeler will look to extend his streak of quality starts to eight. Baz will be the Phillies’ biggest test of the series. He owns a 3.27 ERA and a four-game streak of quality starts.

Phillies to watch: Kyle Schwarber

Whoever flipped Schwarber’s wall calendar back to June should throw out the first pitch of the Phillies’ postseason home opener.

The Phils’ DH has been on an absolute tear as of late, highlighted by a three-homer game that fueled a come-from-behind win in Toronto. He has a hit in all seven of Philadelphia’s September games so far, posting a 1.457 OPS with more RBI (11) than strikeouts (nine). After going nearly three weeks without a home run, Schwarber has flipped the switch and turned the power up.

With Alec Bohm on the injured list and Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto playing through some nicks and bruises, Schwarber is a monumentally important source of offense for the Phillies. Against a Rays team that has allowed the fourth-most home runs in all of MLB, he should be good for a few Schwarbombs.

Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports