After evening up the series 1-1 on Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies will return to the field seeking the advantage in their four-game set against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.
The Phillies’ bats woke up Tuesday night as the team combined for 10 hits including four extra-base hits. J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper both hit home runs on the night while Bryson Stott recorded his first triple of the year.
Phillies vs Giants pitching matchup
Aaron Nola will look to go for his first win of the season in his fourth start. Last time out, Nola allowed two runs in 5.0 innings versus the St. Louis Cardinals, but received no run support in the 3-0 loss. Eight of Nola’s 10 runs allowed thus far have scored as the result of four home runs.
The Phillies’ right-hander will look to find a groove on Wednesday. Though his previous outing against the Cardinals saw him only allow two earned runs, it was his shortest outing of the season at 5.0 innings and he walked four batters. Historically donning a 3.88 ERA in the first month of the season, Nola will look to bring his 5.51 ERA closer to his mean on Wednesday.
Nola will look to do so while battling against left-hander Robbie Ray. Ray, 3-0, most recently got the win in four-inning start against the Yankees due to a rainout. The southpaw currently owns a 2.93 ERA on the year.
Of their five games against left-handed pitching thus far, the Phillies were shut out by the starter in three of them.
Improvements at the plate
A lot of the Phillies’ struggles as of late have come with runners in scoring position. Tuesday night saw the Phillies going 3-for-10 with RISP, another good indication that the team is beginning to put together quality at bats.
Kyle Schwarber will look to continue his 23-game on base streak dating back to last season. He continues to lead the team with six home runs on the year and a 1.038 OPS. Schwarber is also tied with Juan Soto and J.P. Crawford for the fourth-most walks in the League at 14.
With the left-handed Ray on the mound, the Phillies will likely be giving Johan Rojas and Edmundo Sosa their turns in the starting lineup. Brandon Marsh’ hitless streak continued Tuesday night but he did aid the Phillies’ offense with a sacrifice fly in the second inning to score Max Kepler.
Kepler, along with Alec Bohm, showed some life at the bottom of the order Tuesday night. Thomson recalled post-game that the pair had put in some long sessions in the batting cages working on their approach in St. Louis and the results began to show on Tuesday. Kepler went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored while Bohm went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
Where to watch
Tune in as the Phillies and Giants continue their four-game series. You can watch on NBC Sports Philadelphia and tune in on 94 WIP and WTTM 1680.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
