The Philadelphia Phillies head home after a quick six-game road trip to take on another top-tier, playoff-hopeful team – the San Francisco Giants. San Fran comes into the four-game set looking to keep pace in the ever-tough National League West.
Prior to Sunday’s action, the Giants had the third-best run differential in the majors, due in large part to a strong pitching staff – which has been common for San Francisco when healthy the last few years. Add to that a key signing in Willy Adames and a healthy Jung Hoo Lee, who now has a year of major league influence under his belt, and the Giants are real threats to make their NL West rivals sweat all season long.
Philly dropped their first series of the season on the road, dropping the marathon finale against the Braves that ended at 12:53 a.m. after a 2-hour, 45-minute rain delay and the game going into extras. That set them up for a sloppy first contest at St. Louis, resulting in their first back-to-back losses in the early season. The Braves may be struggling out of the gate, but Philly is looking to keep pace with the New York Mets – the club that upset them in the playoffs just six months ago.
Two teams determined to make the playoffs in two crowded divisions that are considered the best in baseball coming in 2025. Who will come out on top? Let’s preview the action headed to Citizens Bank Park Monday through Thursday.
Pitching Matchups
G1: Landen Roupp (0-1, 3.60 ERA) vs. Taijuan Walker (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Roupp, a second-year player, finds himself in the rotation after making the majority of his appearances last year out of the bullpen. His first outing was a four-inning, three-run spot against the Astros, but he turned things around in start No. 2.
The 6-foot-2 right-hander threw six innings of one-run ball against Cincinnati at home last week. 59% of his pitches have been thrown for strikes, but his swing-and-miss has been inconsistent through his two starts in 2025. No one on the Phillies roster has faced Roupp as of yet, so how his stuff plays versus their star-studded lineup is yet to be seen.
On the other hand, Walker may just be the surprise of the early season for Philadelphia. He threw six strong innings against Colorado, fell just short of five innings, and qualified for the win in the team’s only victory over Atlanta. His increased velocity has made the veteran’s deadly Splitter play even more.
While Walker isn’t getting a ton of swing-and-miss on balls in the zone, he is still filling up the box at a 60% clip. Walker has struggled to keep the members of San Fran’s lineup off the base paths but has been able to limit the damage the Orange and Black could have delivered. They have a .348 on-base percent (15 hits, eight walks) vs. Walker, but just a .345 slugging percentage.
Just last season, he allowed eight earned runs in just 12.1 innings of work. If he can limit base runners, he should be able to keep his club in the game for the third time in three chances to start the season.
G2: Justin Verlander (0-0, 6.92 ERA) vs. Jesús Luzardo (2-0, 1.50 ERA)
Verlander has had success against basically everyone in his career, including the current Phillies lineup. However, at least so far, he is not the same guy who is destined to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he hangs up the spikes.
Justin has held the entire team in check in their careers, except for Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, who are a combined 9-for-19 with two steals a piece. In 2025, Verlander has struggled with command, allowing 22 base runners (16 hits, six walks), and has only gotten past the fifth inning in one of his three appearances. He’s also allowed a crooked number in each start. With the Phillies’ left-handed heavy lineup, they should be able to get to Verlander and expose San Fran’s bullpen quickly.
Luzardo has struggled mightily against the Giants in his career, allowing fifteen runs across four starts, with the last coming in 2023. However, he’s looked like a different pitcher so far in 2025 – a top-line starter even. This team is different from the ones he’s faced previously, but there are still a few players to worry about. Wilmer Flores is 5-for-11 against the left-hander, and Willy Adames is 3-for-9 with two doubles. You may need the bullpen earlier than expected, but if they can do the same to Verlander – the Phillies should take this game with relative ease.
G3: Robbie Ray (3-0, 2.93 ERA) vs. Aaron Nola (0-3, 5.51 ERA)
Ray seems to be fully healthy for the first time in a while after he made just eight starts combined over the last two seasons. He has looked dominant in the early going but has allowed at least one earned run in all three of his starts. Ray, a former Cy Young winner, has taken care of business against Phillies hitters, for the most part. Harper has handled him well, with a 5-for-11 line, two walks, and a homer vs. the left-hander in his career. Also, watch Alec Bohm get hot against Ray – he’s 3-for-8 with a walk and only two strikeouts against the veteran lefty.
Nola, on the other hand, has gotten off to one of the slower starts of his career. Although he is typically a slow starter, his propensity for surrendering the long ball seems to be amplified in the early going. Aaron’s had success against Adames, Lee, and Matt Chapman, who are a combined 1-for-23 with 11 strikeouts vs. the longest-tenured Phillie. While he has limited the average against the current crop of Giants, five of their 13 hits off Nola have gone for extra bases. They will need to see a bounceback from Aaron if they want to take Game 3.
G4: Jordan Hicks (1-1, 5.87 ERA) vs. Cristopher Sánchez (1-0, 3.12 ERA)
In a battle of relievers-turned-starters, Sánchez clearly has the advantage. The Phillies lefty has one start against the Giants, coming last year, and he dominated San Fran over six-scoreless. San Fran only has 21 at-bats against the tall lefty, but he has kept them to a .190/.320/.190 slash line with seven strikeouts.
On the surface, Hicks’ numbers look great vs. Philly, but his success came out of the bullpen. In his one start in Philadelphia in his career (last season), he went four innings and allowed four runs (two earned), striking out three while walking four. However, he has kept current Phillies in check – albeit in minimal plate appearances. Five Phillies have faced Hicks five or more times, and only one of them has two-plus hits – Turner. Combined, those five players have just four hits. If they can get his pitch count up, they should escape Hicks before he gets in a groove.
While Philly may have looked rough at times on their quick road trek, they are still poised to be a World Series contenders. A series win in a four-game set against another top NL contender will do a lot to calm some fans early anxieties After facing off with the Giants, the Phillies will welcome the Marlins to town over the weekend.
