PHILADELPHIA — The weather is heating up, and so are the Philadelphia Phillies.
Winners of 5 straight series, the Phillies are back home to host the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals enter Monday night winners of 8 consecutive ballgames and have already beaten the Phillies in a series earlier this season.
After riding Zack Wheeler‘s dominant start in Cleveland on Sunday, the ballclub looks to continue its winning ways against another Central opponent.
Pitching Matchups
Entering play on Monday, the Phillies’ starting rotation holds the most fWAR in all of baseball (per FanGraphs), with 5.3. The next closest team is the Kansas City Royals with a mark of 4.8.
Cristopher Sanchez (4-1, 2.89 ERA) vs Matthew Liberatore (3-3, 3.07 ERA)
To kickstart the series, Cristopher Sanchez will get the start on Monday night. Sanchez has been cruising this season, currently rocking a 2.89 earned run average in his 7 starts. The Phillies left-hander has 44 strikeouts in his 37.1 innings of work on the year. When he pitched against St. Louis earlier in the season, he went 6.1 innings, allowing 8 hits and 1 earned run. He earned a win in that outing.
The Cardinals sent Matthew Liberatore to the mound to oppose Sanchez. Liberatore tossed 6 shutout innings against the Phillies when the two teams met previously in 2025.
Jesus Luzardo (3-0, 2.11 ERA) vs Sonny Gray (4-1, 3.50 ERA)
In Game 2 of the series, Jesus Luzardo toes the rubber for the Phils. Luzardo has been excellent since joining the team this offseason, and he is looking to continue building on his Cy Young case.
Luzardo did not pitch against St. Louis when the 2 teams met earlier this season. He does, however, have 3 career starts against the Cardinals, going 1-1 with a 3.77 earned run average. Luzardo has the 5th best fWAR for starting pitchers with 1.7 (per FanGraphs). Entering Tuesday’s start, the Phillies’ starter holds 51 strikeouts, which makes him the 15th best in baseball.
The Cardinals will send Sonny Gray to oppose Luzardo. Gray has made 7 starts against the Phillies in his career, going 2-2 with a 2.41 earned run average.
Aaron Nola (1-6, 4.89 ERA) vs Erick Fedde (3-3, 3.86 ERA)
In the finale of the Phillies-Cardinals regular season series, the Phils will send Aaron Nola to the mound against St. Louis. After putting together a couple of nice outings, Nola was hit hard against the Guardians this past Friday.
Nola will look to find his stroke again and pitch closer to the standard he set against the Mets and Cubs a few weeks back. Keeping the ball in the ballpark will be key for the Phillies’ right-hander, who has allowed 8 long balls in his 8 starts this season.
On Thursday, the Cardinals will toss Erick Fedde against the Phillies. Fedde has turned his professional career around since pitching in Korea during the 2023 season. He has pitched well in his stint with both the Chicago White Sox and the Cardinals.
Watson’s Phillies Watchlist
There are two players that I am watching extensively during the Phillies-Cardinals series.
Alec Bohm
The Phillies’ third baseman has slowly but surely dug himself out of his early-season hole. However, when it comes to Bohm, he still is not driving the ball consistently.
With warm weather and home cooking, I expect Bohm to heat up against the Cards. He has a career .270 average against St. Louis in 28 career games and, of course, the iconic RBI single against them in the 2022 NL Wild Card Series.
Orion Kerkering
The young Phillies reliever has had his share of struggles this season. Kerkering has been doing a bit of soul-searching in 2025, but the third-year reliever still has a chance to turn his season around.
Kerkering is 6 strikeouts away from 100 for his career. A couple of strong appearances could get him to that mark on this homestand and even in his series. Once the Phillies’ starting rotation turns the game over to the bullpen, wait to see if Orion Kerkering can put together a couple of strong outings.
Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
