The Phillies didn’t leave their last series empty-handed, but the offensive inconsistency that has surfaced in this early part of the season still hangs over this team heading west. A strong pitching performance helped stabilize things in game two, and the win on getaway day took late-inning heroics from Edmundo Sosa and Justin Crawford to claw out a series win.

Now comes a shift in altitude and environment, with the Phillies opening their first road trip of the season at Coors Field, a place where games can get out of control fast and pitching staffs rarely leave unscathed.

This will be the first meeting between these two clubs in 2026, and Colorado enters the season still searching for stability after a difficult 2025 campaign that exposed weaknesses across the roster, most of which we’re largely untouched by the free agent market over the winter. Their major moves this offseason in free agency were picking up fringe talent such as right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen, outfielder Jake McCarthy, and utility player Willi Castro. They did trade for infielder Edouard Julien and right-hander Keegan Thompson. While all of these moves helped to fill out their roster, they did little to address the veteran talent needed to compete in the stacked National League West this season.

Colorado’s roster remains built around patiently developing talent, not immediate contention, and that reality shows up most clearly on the mound, where depth remains a major concern.

The Rockies opened the new season with 2 series on the road, and they started slowly against the Miami Marlins, dropping their first series while struggling to generate consistent offense and leaning heavily on a bullpen that was asked to cover too many innings. Their second series against the defending American League champion, Toronto Blue Jays, was another situation altogether. They won their series in Toronto, and won in many different ways; they slugged out 14 runs in game one and won a close 2-1 game to take the series home. Now they come back to Coors Field with a win against an American League contender, and if the Phillies can’t get into the Colorado bullpen early, they allow the young Rockies to believe that they have a chance, and that can end badly for the Phils.

Starting Pitching Has to Set the Tone

The Phillies still lean heavily on their rotation for the pitching staff’s identity, and this series will test how steady that group really is away from home. Even with uncertainty with a few of the starters, the front-line arms remain the strength of the roster, and that matters more in Colorado than almost anywhere else. The rotation, led by Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo, remains the backbone of the club despite early-season questions about what can be expected behind the primary starters.

Limiting walks and keeping the ball in the yard matters more here than chasing strikeouts, because extra baserunners in Colorado almost always turn into extra runs. In the losses against the Texas Rangers, it was not solo home runs that sunk the Phils; it was runners getting on base in front of the home run, and though Colorado doesn’t have the Rangers’ firepower, they always have a puncher’s chance at making the Phillies pay for pitches left up in the zone. If Phillies starters keep traffic manageable and avoid free passes, it puts the Phillies offense in a position where they should have enough chances to carry the load.

If they don’t, this series can get uncomfortable fast, and to be frank, the Phillies are too good to go into Colorado and get manhandled by a team like the Rockies.

Taking Advantage of a Thin Rockies Bullpen

The Phillies haven’t come out of the gates firing on all cylinders just yet. The top of the Phils’ lineup hasn’t truly started to click, and typically, the top three hit well in the thin air at Coors Field, just in the nick of time. Currently, the top three of the Phillies’ lineup aren’t performing well at all. Reigning NL batting champion Trea Turner is batting .192, Kyle Schwarber is batting .182, and Bryce Harper is batting .120 through the first six games of the season. What’s concerning about this is that all three of the Phillies offensive centerpieces are following a pattern that they are not having competitive at-bats right now.

Their pitch selection is lacking right now, and to climb out of the hole they have dug for the first two series, all three will have to improve their pitch recognition and get themselves into advantageous counts, which has not happened thus far. Particularly Harper, who has been swinging at pitches out of the zone, especially low and outside. He hasn’t been able to diagnose breaking pitches low in the zone, and to get better, that’s where he can start to make a difference.

Schwarber has hit 2 home runs, and of the top three Phillies hitters, he seems to be diagnosing pitches the best, but keep in mind he’s also struck out 9 times in 9 official at-bats.

To correct this, the Phillies will have to get into the Rockies’ bullpen, which has been worked pretty hard in their first six games. The bullpen has pitched many high-stress innings so far, and the Phillies can take advantage of this and the thinner air to try to get the team back on track.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Friday, April 3, at 4:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Saturday, April 4, at 8:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia +, 94.1 WIP

Sunday, April 5, at 3:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia +, 94.1 WIP

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Aaron Nola (RHP, 0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Michael Lorenzen (RHP, 0-0, 6.23 ERA)

Game 2: Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 0-1, 9.00 ERA) vs. Jose Quintana (LHP, 0-0, 4.15 ERA)

Game 3: Taijuan Walker (RHP, 0-1, 11.57 ERA) vs. Tomoyuki Sugano (RHP, 0-0, 1.93 ERA)

By the Numbers

• Records 
• Phillies: 3-3
• Rockies: 2-4

• Run Differential 
• Phillies: -13
• Rockies: +3

• Runs Scored Per Game 
• Phillies: 3.8
• Rockies: 4

• Runs Allowed Per Game 
• Phillies: 6
• Rockies: 3.5

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