A Tough Trip To The Bay Area: Phillies at Giants Series Preview, April 6-8
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper hits a home run against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Three series into the 2026 season, and the Phillies currently sit at 5-4 overall, winning two of the first three series. They just picked up a series win against the bottom-of-the-barrel Colorado Rockies, but now they close out their first road trip of the season with a series against the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants feel like an unofficial rival of the Phillies, mainly stemming from the 2010 NLCS loss, as well as the somewhat rivalry Bryce Harper has with Giants’ fans. While the G-Men are only 3-7 on the year, for whatever reason, San Francisco plays outstanding against the Phillies at Oracle Park, and the Phillies play terribly. Since 2019, the Phillies have been 4-15 at Oracle, losing all six series they played there.
It’s safe to say the Phillies don’t play great in the Bay Area, but with an offense that looks like it’s getting adjusted to the season, and three solid pitching options rolling out for the series, the team looks ready to end their losing ways out west.
Painter’s First Road Test
This week, we get to watch the first real test for the Phillies’ rookie pitcher, Andrew Painter, as the young right-hander makes his first road start of the season. Painter shined in his first start against the Nationals last week, tossing 5.1 innings of one-run ball, striking out eight, and picking up his first win.
Now the Phillies allowed Painter to be comfortable during his first start, pitching at home against a team that’s projected to be one of the worst in baseball. Obviously, you can’t hold Painter’s hand anymore, as it’s go time for him to show up or shut up in terms of being a major league starter, and a great first test is against the Giants, who, despite the struggles from their offense recently, have big-time names to get through.
From Matt Chapman, Luis Arraez, Willy Adames, and Rafael Devers, the Giants have multiple All-Star caliber players leading their lineup. On top of that, Oracle Park brings good and bad for pitchers, as the deep spots and the short walls make it one of the more obscure ballparks in the league, not ideal for a pitcher. Strikeouts will once again be a key for Painter, as if he can rack them up, he can pick up a big opening series win for the Phillies.
Brandon Marsh Is On Fire
While the offense had its positive spurts out in Denver, one guy who has been on fire to open up 2026 has been the Phillies’ left fielder, Brandon Marsh. Marsh this year is batting .303, with a .343 on-base percentage and .828 OPS, while totaling one home run, five RBIs, and 10 total hits.
He picked up his first home run of the season this past weekend in the opener against Colorado, blowing open the first inning.
Marsh has given the middle of the Phillies order life, as in the seven hole, he’s managed to get runs and pick up the slack from the top of the order not producing. Multiple times this year, when the team has needed movement on the basepaths, Marsh has come through with a big hit.
In the field, Marsh has also manned down left field perfectly, going a perfect 18-for-18 on putouts, with seven of them coming during the finale of the Rockies series. Marsh moved full-time to left field this season with the emergence of rookie Justin Crawford, and with the move, he’s excelled in that spot. If his consistent hitting continues, we could see a move up to the five spot in the order, swapping him and second baseman Bryson Stott.
Giants Struggling Offense
If you think the Phillies’ offense is bad, take a look at the Giants.
Over their first 10 games of 2026, the Giants are averaging just 2.6 runs and 6.7 hits per game, scoring a total of just 26 runs and four total home runs. Both total runs and home runs rank dead last in the entire league. They’ve been shut out three times, and 16 of their 24 total runs scored have come in two games.
As a team, they’re batting .208 with Arraez being the only qualified hitter batting .275 or better. Strikouts haven’t been that bad of an issue as they ranked middle of the pack with 83, but they’ve struggled to get on base at all, totaling a .269 on-base percentage through the first 10 games. The only team with a worse on-base percentage is the team that the Phillies just played, the Colorado Rockies.
I’m saying all this as a preface when the Giants batters smack multiple home runs, and it looks like Barry Bonds is back on the field playing. If the Phillies want to win this weekend, the key has to be from the pitching staff keeping the Giants batters in their place and not letting them get rolling this week.
Game Times and Broadcasts
Monday, April 6, at 9:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia+, 94.1 WIP
Tuesday, April 7, at 9:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia+, 94.1 WIP
Wednesday, April 8, at 3:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Andrew Painter (RHP, 1-0, 1.69 ERA) vs. Adrian Houser (RHP, 0-1, 1.69 ERA)
Game 2: Cristopher Sanchez (LHP, 1-0, 0.79 ERA) vs. Robbie Ray (LHP, 1-1, 3.38 ERA)
Game 3: Aaron Nola (RHP, 1-0, 3.18 ERA) vs. Tyler Mahle (RHP, 0-2, 7.00 ERA)
By the Numbers
- Records
- Phillies: 5-4
- Giants: 3-7
- Run Differential
- Phillies: -6
- Giants: -25
- Runs Scored Per Game
- Phillies: 4.38
- Giants: 2.67
- Runs Allowed Per Game
- Phillies: 4.75
- Giants: 5.11
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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