Battle of PA — Series Preview: Pirates at Phillies, May 16-18

The Pirates and Phillies play eahc other for the first time in 2025 this weekend, but it won’t be the same without the iconic “POOP” scoreboard this time around.

There are many interesting headlines for this seemingly meaningless series against an NL bottom-feeder. For starters, these teams are allegedly rivals. This is probably the first time fans and players alike of both teams are learning this information.

This series is a part of baseball’s first “Rivalry Weekend,” which includes Mets-Yankees and other geographical matchups.

The Pirates are… a team

Let’s not lie to ourselves here, the Pirates are terrible. They come into the 3-game series 14 games under .500 at 15-29. If you’re unfortunate enough to have been born a fan of this team, there isn’t much to tune into, not named Paul Skenes.

Their bottom 5 in batting average, bottom 7 in OBP, and dead last in slugging and in runs scored.

Oneil Cruz is nice with 8 homers, but is hitting .230. Just about every player they have tried to forge into quality hitters has failed. Cruz still hasn’t broken out, Bryan Reynolds is hitting .194, Ke’Bryan Hayes is an incredible glove but an average hitter, Tommy Pham is hitting .176, and Andrew McCutchen is serviceable but only there to put fans in seats.

Even if the move occurred 2 years late, firing Derek Shelton was a good move to give them credit.

Turning over to the pitching side of things, Andrew Heaney is set to start in the first game of the series. The 33-year-old lefty has had somewhat of a career revival with the Pirates this year. In 8 starts, he’s managed an impressive 3.15 ERA despite his 2-3 record. How sustainable his play is can be a tricky question. He hasn’t sustained a sub-4 ERA in his career outside of a stint in the Dodger pitching machine in 2022 and a respectable season in 2015.

In game two, things get easier for the Phillies. Carmen Mlodzinski is scheduled to make his 9th start of what has been a shaky at best season to this point. Mlodzinski was viewed as somebody the Pirates could develop into a key piece in the rotation for years to come just a few years ago. Not long after, he seems to be on the trajectory to joining the long list of prospects who flopped at the major league level.

To finish the series, the Pirates get their ace. Skenes is looking to be one of the best pitchers of the next 10 years. At 22 years old, the face of the franchise has a 2.16 ERA in 32 career starts, almost winning a CY Young in his first season. Skenes is a special breed, and the Phillies will have their hands full trying to push runs across against him.

Sunday Skenes

Skenes headlines the series as not just the face of the Pirates, but one of the biggest names in baseball.

It will be the first time Skenes appears against the Phillies, and it’ll come on Sunday afternoon.

He’s a jack of all trades for a pitcher. He has blazing speed on his pitches and some of the best stuff in MLB on his off-speed pitches. It’s no surprise that the superstar has drawn attention from numerous teams across MLB in trade conversations. The Pirates aren’t known for big spending, and when it’s time to give Skenes his first taste of big league money, it is bound to be one of the biggest contracts in MLB history. That, coupled with the Pirates being one of the league’s worst teams across the last 5+ years, makes it more likely than you’d first think.

As for where he could go, there isn’t much other than speculation. All I ask is that he go anywhere other than the Dodgers. Seriously, if they manage to get him, there will be riots.

Chance to pad the record

Despite a very weird series against the Cardinals, the Phillies are still red hot. Now 7 games over .500, this series provides a chance to add to the cushion before a road trip in Colorado and Sacramento.

Bats like Trea Turner, Bryson Stott, Nick Castellanos, and even Alec Bohm have been incredible as of late. Bohm, in particular, has completely changed the narrative on his season. His batting average is up to .258, which would’ve been seen as a miracle just a short month ago. Before a hitless performance in the first half of the doubleheader, he was riding an 8-game hitting streak.

On the pitching side, Ranger Suarez is looking to build off his incredible start in Cleveland in his last appearance. After a rough return against the Diamondbacks, he was excellent against the Guardians with 7.0 scoreless innings and totaled 5 strikeouts. As Ranger looks to get in a groove for the season, a start against a struggling Pirates offense could be a launching point.

It’ll be Zack Wheeler taking the mound on Saturday as he continues what has been an electrifying season. Wheeler is 2nd in MLB in strikeouts while eating up a league-leading 58.0 innings. He’s coming off of arguably his best start yet. Like Ranger, 7.0 innings of scoreless baseball against Cleveland. The Pirates have been a team that Wheeler has dominated his entire career, with a 2.68 ERA in 8 starts.

Finishing the series is the eternally underrated Cristopher Sanchez. He has also had an elite start to the season with a 4-1 record and 2.91 ERA. In his last 3 starts, he’s combined for 17.0 innings pitched, 4 earned runs, and 19 strikeouts. In 4 career appearances against the Pirates, he’s been even better than Wheeler with a 1.45 ERA. However, he will be seeking his first win.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Friday, May 16, 6:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Saturday, May 17, 6:05 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Sunday, May 18, 1:35 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC 10, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Probable Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Ranger Suarez (LHP, 1-0, 5.91 ERA) vs. Andrew Heaney (LHP, 2-3, 3.15 ERA)

Game 2: Zack Wheeler (RHP, 4-1, 2.95 ERA) vs. Carmen Mlodzinski (RHP, 1-3, 5.20 ERA)

Game 3: Cristopher Sanchez (LHP, 4-1, 2.91 ERA) vs. Paul Skenes (RHP, 3-4, 2.63 ERA)

By the Numbers

• Records
• Phillies: 25-18
• Pirates: 15-29

• Run Differential 
• Phillies: 16
• Pirates: -54

• Runs Scored Per Game 
• Phillies: 4.70
• Pirates: 3.07

• Runs Allowed Per Game 
• Phillies: 4.33
• Pirates: 4.30

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