America’s Past Time on America’s Birthday — Series Preview: Reds at Phillies, July 4-6

It’s Fourth of July weekend, and the Phillies will be hosting the Cincinnati Reds for a three-game series. The Phillies took two of three from the Padres earlier this week but will have to battle against two left-handed starters in order to take a series win.

The Cincinnati Reds are 6-4 in their last 10 games and rest in fourth place in the NL Central. They are, however, three games above .500, which goes to show the strength of the NL Central this year. The NL East only has two teams above .500.

The Phillies have yet to face the Reds this year, but last year, in the seven games played, the Phils only won three of them. Since last season, when the Reds finished eight games below .500, their roster has only gotten younger and better. Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz is still tearing it up, and one of their offseason acquisitions, Austin Hays, is playing much better than he did in the red pinstripes.

They have recently called up Chase Burns. a highly regarded pitching prospect, whom the Phillies will face on Sunday. They will face two left-handed starters in the first two games.

Which leads to the keys of the series:

Hit Left-handed Pitching.

The Phillies have struggled against left-handed pitching all year. They have faced significantly fewer left-handed starters, but in the games they have, they possess an 8-13 record. It’s been rough.

Their lineup is more built up around slugging righties. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are the reason for that. But they possess right-handed hitters who should be able to hit a southpaw.

They lack slugging against lefties. Their team’s OPS vs lefties is 20 points lower than righties. Trea Turner (.794), Nick Castellanos (.767), and J.T. Realmuto (.335) all possess subpar slugging percentages against lefties. These are the guys that make up the middle of the lineup.

The Reds will be walking out Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo for the first two games. The last series the Phillies faced two lefties was the Astros series, and they were swept.

The middle of the lineup needs to be better against lefties. They’re the ones paid $20 million plus, so it starts with them.

The Set Up and The Close

Lately, the Phillies have gotten exceptional starts, especially from their big three pitchers — Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, and Cristopher Sanchez. They’ve gone into the seventh more than enough, which leaves the eighth and ninth for the bullpen.

Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering have been the ones tasked with those innings. Kerkering has entered the game in the eighth inning in four of his last five appearances. The other time, he was credited with a save in the ninth.

Strahm entered in the ninth inning, after Kerkering, in his last two appearances, to close the game out. It’s been a successful recipe for them.

Take it with a grain of salt however, because that successful recipe has been reliant on their starters going deep, but the recipe is working. Even if Strahm’s innings are shaky, the 1-2 punch of Kerkering-Strahm should be used until it can’t.

With Bryce Harper back, the Phillies will be getting some necessary slugging back in the lineup. They have two of their big three starters on the mound for this series, and the bullpen is trending up.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Friday, July 4, 1:95 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Saturday, July 5, 4:05 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Sunday, July 6, 1:35 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP, WTTM 1680

Probable Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 7-4, 4.06 ERA) vs. Andrew Abbott (RHP, 7-1, 1.76 ERA)

Game 2: Ranger Suarez (LHP, 7-2, 2.00 ERA) vs. Nick Lodolo (LHP, 5-5, 3.52 ERA)

Game 3: Zack Wheeler (RHP, 8-3, 2.27 ERA) vs. Chase Burns (RHP, 0-1, 13.50 ERA

By the Numbers

• Records
• Phillies: 51-36
• Reds: 45-42

• Run Differential 
• Phillies: 52
• Reds: 35

• Runs Scored Per Game 
• Phillies: 4.59
• Reds: 4.64

• Runs Allowed Per Game 
• Phillies: 3.99
• Reds: 4.24

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