The Philadelphia Phillies continue their second home stand of the season Monday against the Colorado Rockies. Philly is still in search of their first series win at home, after splitting a four-game series over the weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park.
Colorado comes to town after losing 2 of 3 in Toronto and losing 4 of their last 5 games overall. The Rockies are sitting in the basement of the National League West with a 4-12 record. That record is second worst in the NL, and third worst in baseball – ahead of only the Miami Marlins and the Phillies’ next opponent, the Chicago White Sox.
Phillies vs. Rockies History
Philadelphia and Colorado have a decent history despite the Rockies joining MLB in 1993. The clubs have already played 221 times, with the Phillies holding the advantage with a record of 124-97 all-time. Just last year, Philly won the season series handily – going 5-2 against the Rocks. They are 10-4 in the matchup in the previous two seasons.
Probable Pitchers
Game one will see Aaron Nola (2-1, 4.50 ERA) take the hill for Philadelphia. The long-time Phillie will face off against Cal Quantrill (0-2, 7.20 ERA), who is in his first season in Colorado after coming over in an off-season trade with Cleveland. Quantrill had plenty of success his first 2+ years in Cleveland (3.11 ERA), but his numbers last season ballooned. He finished 2023 with a 5.24 ERA in 19 starts.
The right-hander has only pitched against the Phillies once in his career – a 5 inning outing back in 2019 as a member of the Padres. Nola has had decent success against the Rockies in his career, with a record of 4-2 and an ERA of 3.63 in 9 starts. In 2023, he went 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 2 starts (14 innings) against Colorado.
Game two will see Ranger Suárez (2-0, 2.65 ERA) take on LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, 4.91 ERA). Suárez has good numbers against Colorado in his career (1-0, 3.32 ERA), but his one start against them in 2023 was not good. It was his first start of the season after starting the year on the injured list. He allowed 3 earned runs in 4 innings, allowing 8 base runners, but the Phillies did go on to win the game.
Gomber’s overall numbers against Philly seem rough on the surface (0-1, 4.73 ERA) but they are inflated by a 2 out, 2 earned run relief appearance back in 2018. As a starter, he has pitched to the tune of a 3.55 ERA and 0.710 WHIP against Philly.
In the series finale, fans can expect to see Cristopher Sánchez (0-2, 3.52 ERA) pitch opposite Ryan Feltner (1-1, 3.38 ERA). Neither man has pitched well against the opposition historically. Sánchez has 1 appearance against Colorado and it came last year in his first major league start of the season. He went 4.1 IP, allowing 8 base runners and 3 earned runs. Feltner has seen Philly 4 times since 2021 and hasn’t been able to figure them out. He is 1-2 with a 5.63 ERA against the Phillies in 4 starts.
Offensive Outlook
Philadelphia, despite its potent lineup on paper, has struggled to get going offensively. Only one team in the NL has scored fewer runs than them so far, and Colorado has outscored Philly by 11 runs. The slugging percentages across the Phillies lineup leave something to be desired, but this series could be a “get-right” series. Despite outscoring the Phils, the Rockies have had the most runs scored against them this season, with 103 (the Phillies have only allowed 71 runs against them).
Philly has not lost a series in their past 3 and will be facing a shaky pitching Rockies pitching staff in hopes of getting the offense going before an off day on Thursday.
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
