A Trip To The Northside: Phillies vs. Cubs Series Preview, April 20-23

The Phillies are heading to the north side of Chicago after being swept by the Braves. They’ll open a four-game series against the Cubs on Monday night.  

And maybe the Phillies need to head away from Citizens Bank Park. After the sweep on Sunday night, they went 2-7 on their homestand against Arizona, Chicago, and Atlanta. It marks their worst nine-game stand at Citizens Bank Park since June 12-21, 2009, when they went 1-8 against Boston, Toronto, and Baltimore. Now is a chance to right the ship against the Cubs, whom they have just faced a week prior. 

Last Time They Met

The last time these two teams met was just last week, with the Cubs taking two out of three from the Phils in blowout fashion. Game 1 went to the Phillies with a final score of 13-7, with the Phillies tacking on nine runs against Cubs starter Javier Assad. The next two games, they gave up 10 and 11 runs apiece, with Jesus Luzardo giving up eight runs in the rubber match last Wednesday. 

The Cubs, meanwhile, are on a five-game winning streak after recently sweeping the New York Mets and are still a threat in the National League. It’s not the team the Phillies want to face again during a five-game losing streak, but they have already seen their pitching once, and this series is a new chance to take advantage and turn things around. 

Phillies Have to Score In More Than One Inning

It’s a problem that has haunted the Phillies all season, and it happened during the awful homestand. The Phillies need to turn it around. Besides Game 1, they only scored three runs in Game 2 in the second inning, and then one run late into the game, and the same happened in Game 3; they scored one in the first and didn’t score until the bottom of the ninth when the game was way out of reach already. 

The same happened against the Braves. The Phils were shut out Friday night and scored in only one inning on Saturday and Sunday, underscoring that this problem still needs to be repaired. The Phillies can break this streak and start scoring consistently, and it helps that they’re going to be facing the same pitching for the second time in just a week’s span.

Prevent the Big Inning

Usually, after the Phillies score in one inning, they pack their bags and call it a night. And to follow, the pitching usually implodes and gives up three to four runs, and then the offense can’t hit. That has been a major factor in the Phillies’ losses, and the Cubs showed how they can tilt a game in their favor in their previous series, especially in the 11-2 finale.

Nico Hoerner and Matt Bush were the biggest problems in that game, combining for seven out of the 11 Cubs runs, and the Cubs kept getting base hits after base hits, which kept Luzardo in the game and caused him to keep giving up runs. The same thing happened against the Braves on Saturday and Sunday. After the Phillies scored their only runs in the second and first innings, the Braves quickly responded, scoring three in the following inning on Saturday and three in the fifth on Sunday. The Phillies pitching is good, but pitching can’t be the reason they win games when you have an offense and payroll that are supposed to be contending for a World Series.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Monday, April 20, 7:40 PM EST, NBC Sports Philadelphia +, 94.1 WIP

Tuesday, April 21, 7:40 PM EST, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Wednesday, April 22, 7:40 PM EST, NBC Sports Philadelphia +, 94.1 WIP

Thursday, April 23, 2:20 PM EST, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Aaron Nola (RHP, 1-1, 4.03 ERA) vs. Colin Rea (RHP, 2-0, 3.63 ERA)

Game 2: Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 1-3, 7.94 ERA) vs. Shota Imanaga (LHP, 1-1, 2.45 ERA)

Game 3: TBD (Opener for Taijuan Walker) vs. Matthew Boyd (LHP, 1-1, 6.75 ERA)

Game 4: Christopher Sanchez (LHP, 2-2, 1.59 ERA) vs. Edward Cabrera (RHP, 2-0, 2.38 ERA)

The Numbers

• Record
• Phillies: 8-13
• Cubs: 12-9

• Run Differential
• Phillies: -38
• Cubs: +30

• Runs Scored Per Game
• Phillies: 3.57
• Cubs: 5.33

• Runs Allowed Per Game
• Phillies: 5.38
• Cubs: 3.90

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