The Arizona Diamondbacks are 16-49 on the road. The Phillies must take revenge for what happened in the desert. This is the time and place to do so.
16 ROAD WINS
16 road wins, 16 road wins, 16 road wins, 16 ROAD WINS
Coming off one of the most disappointing losses of the season, the Phillies need to have their A-game. Hell, it’s the D-Backs, their B-game would suffice. Again, 16 road wins. Funny enough, their last road series win was against the Atlanta Braves in late April.
Now, if you’re concerned because of the sweep in Arizona, don’t be. The Diamondbacks have a home record of 27-36. The Phillies have a road record of 27-36. It was a wash. It happened. Let’s get over it.
The pitchers the Phillies will face are Zac Gallen (4.59 ERA), Taylor Widener (4.34 ERA), Humberto Mejia (1 start, 5 IP 2 ER), and Madison Bumgarner (4.42 away ERA). None of them should prevent the Phillies from going at least 3-1 if not 4-0.
The Phillies will need to win in order to keep up with the Atlanta Braves (5 games ahead) or the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card race (also 5 games behind).
Key pieces for the Phillies
Rhys Hoskins being back has been a huge impact piece. In 2 starts back from his groin injury, Hoskins has gone 3 for 8 with 3 home runs, increasing his team lead of homers to 27. He has a .530 slugging % and a 133 OPS+ on the season.
His place in the lineup has also been a huge factor for Bryce Harper. That was shown Wednesday night when Harper went 2-3 with a homer and a walk. On the season, Harper has hit .293. When Hoskins was out of the lineup he only hit .209. No pitcher was going to throw him a quality pitch without Hoskins behind him.
On Thursday night, Zach Eflin is making his return to the rotation. In his last 5 starts before his injury, Eflin had a 3.44 ERA. That’s not counting his final start that could’ve been affected by his injured knee. Eflin will replace Matt Moore in the rotation.
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
