Dingers in the Desert? Series Preview: Phillies at Diamondbacks, August 8 – 11
Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo
Is August the new June? Kyle Schwarber seems to think so. The Phillies’ designated hitter, who is quietly on pace to have a career year, launched four home runs in the Phillies-Dodgers series earlier this week. With seven RBI just yesterday, Schwarber helped the Phillies route the Dodgers for the fifth time in 2024, reasserting the Phillies as the best team in the National League.
Records aside, this upcoming series has some stakes. The Phillies are slated to play four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the same team that won the NLCS in front of 40,000-plus Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park this past October. Arizona may be a third-place team for now, but the Phillies are still hungry to prove that 2023 was a fluke. Today, the Phillies return to Chase Field for the first time since game five of the NLCS.
Coming into the four-game set with two consecutive wins against the Dodgers, the Phillies look to become the first team in the league to win 70 ballgames.
Last Time They Met
The Phils and D-Backs last duked it out in mid-June, when—despite a narrow game-one loss—the Phillies nabbed a series win thanks to an offensive explosion in game two and seven scoreless innings from Christopher Sanchez. To no one’s surprise, Bryce Harper stole the show at the plate. He had seven hits in 13 at-bats, driving in three runs and racking up 12 total bases.
Since then, little has changed from the Phillies’ side of things. They still have a healthy lead in the National League East, though their winning percentage has dropped by a few points. The Diamondbacks, however, have cleaned things up. When their series with the Phillies ended on June 23, they were two games below the .500 mark. But having won 12 of their last 14 coming into the weekend, the D-Backs are 11 games above .500 and currently in control of the second NL Wild Card spot.
Wheelin’ Through Arizona
Zack Wheeler dominated the Dodgers in Los Angeles, and his track record against the Diamondbacks isn’t too shabby either. On June 22, he struck out eight in seven innings of two-hit, one-run baseball. He walked zero Diamondback hitters and had a 67% strike rate.
Hold on, though. That’s not all. In 14.2 innings against the Diamondbacks in the 2023 playoffs, Wheeler was phenomenal. He allowed just three total runs in his three appearances, struck out 17 batters, and walked only two guys. He earned a win in both games he started in that series and held the Diamondbacks scoreless in his relief appearance.
Needless to say, Wheeler has had the D-backs’ numbers over the past year. Wheeler will be on the bump for game two of this four-game series, where he will follow up one of his best outings of 2024.
J.T.’s Struggles
When J.T. Realmuto returned shortly after the All-Star break came to an end, fans breathed a sigh of relief as the lineup returned to a state of normalcy. On June 11, Realmuto was sent to the IL with a right knee injury, and he underwent meniscus surgery not long after.
With a lineup that is built around J.T. Realmuto, who has been the two, four, or five-hole hitter for most of the season, his loss caused some serious rumblings in the way manager Rob Thomson was forced to line up his hitters. Expectedly, the offense experienced some inconsistency in Realmuto’s absence, but his return on July 20 did not have as profound of an effect as many fans anticipated.
Realmuto has just one hit in his last 16 at-bats, and he has a mere .178 batting average since his return. So far in the month of August, his slugging percentage is just .105, and weak contact has continued to hurt his chances of reaching base.
Tonight, Realmuto is drawing his sixth start in the last seven games, so it is paramount for the Phillies’ offense that he gets back on track. If his struggles continue, Rob Thomson may need to consider moving him down in the lineup, especially considering how well Nick Castellanos and Edmundo Sosa have been hitting.
Here is how the Phillies will line up else wise:
- DH Kyle Schwarber
- SS Trea Turner
- 1B Bryce Harper
- 3B Alec Bohm
- C J.T. Realmuto
- RF Nick Castellanos
- 2B Edmundo Sosa
- LF Weston Wilson
- CF Johan Rojas
Game Times and Broadcasts
Thursday, August 8, 9:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP
Friday, August 9, 9:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP
Saturday, August 10, 8:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP
Sunday, August 11, 4:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Kolby Allard (LHP, 0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Jordan Montgomery (LHP, 7-5, 6.37 ERA)
Game 2: Zack Wheeler (RHP, 11-5, 2.77 ERA) vs. Ryne Nelson (RHP, 8-6, 4.65 ERA)
Game 3: Aaron Nola (RHP, 11-5, 3.54 ERA) vs. Zac Gallen (RHP, 9-5, 3.75 ERA)
Game 4: Christopher Sanchez (LHP, 8-7, 3.27 ERA) vs. TBD
By the Numbers
- Records
- Phillies: 68-46
- Diamondbacks: 63-52
- Run Differential
- Phillies: 106
- Diamondbacks: 52
- Runs Scored Per Game
- Phillies: 4.89
- Diamondbacks: 5.17
- Runs Allowed Per Game
- Phillies: 3.96
- Diamondbacks: 4.71
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