The Phillies (19-15) are sitting in second place in the NL East trailing the New York Mets as the team begins a six-game road trip on Tuesday heading to Tampa, Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Rays (16-18, 3rd in AL East) at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
It’s the first leg of the two-city road trip for the club who looks to have better results compared to its last road trip where the Phillies lost the first four games of that road swing, being swept by the Mets before dropping the series opener at the Chicago Cubs. The team salvaged the road trip rattling off two wins to take the series in Chicago to put their early season road record at 6-9.
The Phillies are coming off a pair of series wins against Washington and Arizona, so the team should feel confident heading into this series against a Rays team that doesn’t provide much punch offensively. At the plate, the Rays are 13th in MLB in average (.245), 20th in OPS (.681) and tied for the ninth-fewest runs scored so far this season (131). They also have hit the sixth-fewest home runs in the league (28).
It’s worth noting that this season is a bit different for Tampa Bay, playing at the Spring Training home of the New York Yankees due to Hurricane Milton’s damaging winds last October.
Because of that, the Rays had their schedule altered due to the weather in Florida in the middle of summer being sweltering while unpredictable with daily pop up storms, Tampa has played 22 of its 34 games at “home” posting a 9-13 record.
All three games are schedule for 7:05 p.m.
Game 1: RHP Zack Wheeler (2-1, 3.48) vs. RHP Drew Rasmussen (1-2, 2.64)
Wheeler continues to be the ace of the staff and proves that the three-year $126 million extension he signed before the start of last season has been well worth it for the team. He has been dominant in the majority of his starts this season, allowing two earned runs or less in all but two of his first seven starts while racking up seven or more strikeouts in five of those starts including a 10-strikeout performance in his second start of the season on April 2 against Colorado and had 13 punchouts against Miami back on April 23.
Surprisingly, the Phillies are just 4-3 in his first seven starts of the season. Wheeler has been exceptional in each of his last three starts, posting a 2.81 ERA in 19.2 innings allowing just six earned runs during that stretch with 29 strikeouts and three walks and looks to make it three consecutive quality starts on the mound when he takes the ball in the series opener.
There are not many notable trends or numbers for Rays hitters against Wheeler due to rather small sample sizes, but Jonathan Aranda who is arguably the best hitter in the Tampa lineup is 2-for-2 with a home run against Wheeler.
Drew Rasmussen will be on the bump for the Rays. The righty is back on the mound this season after working his way back from an internal brace procedure last July on his right elbow, marking the third major surgery on that elbow in his career. The 29-year-old has shown flashes of dominance throughout his big-league career, but the biggest issue for Rasmussen is staying on the hill. He has appeared in just 30 games with 18 being starts over the last three seasons after making 28 starts in 2022.
So far this season, he has made five starts going exactly five innings in four of those outings with his most recent outing against Kansas City where he suffered the loss after giving up three earned runs on six hits as the Rays got blanked by the Royals 3-0.
Similar to the Rays’ lineup and Wheeler, not too many Phillies have a healthy sample size against Rasmussen. Of note, Kyle Schwarber is 3-for-8 with a home run against him.
Game 2: LHP Cristopher Sanchez (3-1, 3.45) vs. RHP Shane Baz (3-1, 3.86)
Two weeks ago Sanchez and the Phillies had a scare as the southpaw has to leave his start against the Mets on April 22 after just two innings of work due to forearm tightness. He missed his following turn in the rotation but fortunately for Sanchez and the Phillies it turned out not to be as serious as it could have been.
Sanchez, who has showcased an impressive arsenal, bounced back from the injury scare in his last outing on April 30 against the Nationals, picking up his third win of the season after five innings of two-run ball while scattering five hits, walking three and striking out six. The command was not the best for Sanchez which was to be expected after the elongated break.
“I felt a little rusty today, but I think that I can fix that easily,” Sanchez told media after his last start.
The Phillies are 5-1 in starts made by Sanchez this season which is the best winning percentage for the club among any starting pitcher toeing the rubber.
His counterpart in the second game will be Shane Baz the former 12th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. Originally drafted by the Pirates, Baz was traded to Tampa as the player to be named later as part of the July 31, 2018 deal where the Pirates sent Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to the Rays for Chris Archer.
Baz, known for an explosive fastball, has been unable to stay healthy for the majority of his pro career, missing all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery while dealing with other injuries. However, he is seemingly healthy this year and will look to rebound after his worst start of the season last time out against Kansas City where he was tagged for seven earned runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings of work.
Prior to that start, he twirled seven scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres on the road. Baz has the ability to rack up the strikeouts, whiffing 11 batters in his second start of the season against Boston. This will be just the second career start for Baz against the Phillies. He was solid in his lone appearance last season, going 5.1 innings allowing two earned runs on just three hits while walking one and striking out four. His lone blemish was a two-run homer hit by Nick Castellanos.
Game 3: LHP Jesus Luzardo (3-0, 1.94) vs. RHP Ryan Pepiot (2-4, 4.23)
How good has Jesus Luzardo been for the Phillies? He currently has the fifth lowest ERA in all of MLB and second lowest in the National League only behind the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto while tied for 12th in strikeouts with 47. The Phillies are 5-2 in his starts and he has allowed two earned runs or less in six of his seven starts to begin his Phillies’ career. Dave Dombroski gets heat for not making the big splashy move this winter, but Luzardo has been sensational and pitching like a big-time acquisition.
His most recent outing was perhaps his shakiest but still battled his way through 5.1 innings against a good Arizona team allowing just two earned runs despite giving up season-high nine hits. He will be facing an American League team for the first time this season in the series finale.
Luzardo also wasted no time making his presence felt in the city of Brotherly Love when he announced prior to his home debut that he will donate $100 for every strikeout he records to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia and with his 47 punchouts, that is already $4,700 raised by the lefty.
His counterpart Ryan Pepiot has equally been as good despite his ERA being inflated due to a tough outing back on April 15 where he allowed six earned runs in six innings of work. If you take that start out of the equation, the 27-year-old has pitched to a respectable 3.21 ERA in his other six starts.
Originally a draft pick third round pick by the Dodgers in 2019, Pepiot was traded in December of 2023 with Jonny DeLuca to the Rays for Tyler Glasnow, Manuel Margot and cash. Last season, the right-hander went 8-8 with a 3.60 ERA in 26 starts. This year, he has a solid 35:14 strikeout-to-walk ratio, His last outing was against the Yankees on the road where he was saddled with the loss, going a season-low 4.1 innings allowing two earned runs on five hits. He walked two and only struck out one batter.
Thursday will be the first time Pepiot faces the Phillies in his career.
Other Phillies Notes
The Phillies are 22-23 all-time against Tampa but four of those wins came in the 2008 World Series when the Phillies beat the Rays in in five games to capture the club’s second World Series Championship. Tampa has yet to return to the Fall Classic while the Phillies had a chance to win a third title in 2022, falling to the Houston Astros.
Kyle Schwarber carries his 40-game on-base streak into the series Tuesday night. It is tied with Willie Montanez (1974) for the eighth longest on-base streak in franchise history. If he reaches base in the series opener, he will join Pete Rose (1982) and Don Hurst (1929) for the seventh longest on-base streak in club history. Mike Schmidt holds the record with 56 consecutive games on base during the 1981 and 1982 seasons.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
