Beantown Business Trip: Phillies vs. Red Sox Series Preview, May 12-14

The Phillies are rolling; now it’s time to see if they can keep it rolling on the road.

After starting the season 9-19 and firing their manager, Rob Thomson, the Phillies have all of a sudden jumped up to three games under .500 at 19-22. The Phillies seemed dead in the water with an offense with no life and a pitching staff that looked very disappointing compared to what was expected.

However, thanks to a new voice, some better hitting, and a great run of starting pitching performances have brought new life to this Phillies group. Now they’re shipping up to Boston for a three-game interleague series against the Red Sox, trying to continue their great play on the road.

Donnie Baseball Turning A Corner

We’re now two weeks removed from the Phillies dismissing Rob Thomson from his managerial duties and promoting Don Mattingly to interim manager. Since they’ve made the move, the Phillies have won four consecutive series, they’ve won 10 of 13 games, and Mattingly’s wins account for over half of the Phillies’ wins this season.

Now I have to mention, the competition the Phillies have played the last two weeks, compared to the opponents the Phillies were playing in the final two weeks with Thomson’s are completely different, The Phillies ran into two series against the Braves and Cubs, two of baseball’s best teams this season, while they faced three of the NL’s bottom teams this year and a young Atheltic’s squad.

However, everything is clicking for the Phillies, no matter who they play. Kyle Schwarber has 16 home runs and has homered in four straight games. Bryce Harper is hot, Brandon Marsh is playing the best baseball of his career, and the rest of the order is providing.

The pitching staff has improved its play, which helps, but the offense is booming like days of old. If they can continue to hit this well, it’ll be no time before they’re back over .500 and in a playoff spot in the National League.

The Wheels Just Keep Rolling

Zack Wheeler returns to the Phillies rotation, and all of a sudden, they start winning.

In three starts, Wheeler has posted a 3.12 ERA over 17.1 innings, totaling 18 strikeouts and just 11 hits allowed. It’s still early, but Wheeler is showing signs of getting back to his usual self after suffering a blood clot back in August of last year, causing him to have surgery and miss the end of last year and the beginning of this season.

Wheeler has been arguably the best player on the Phillies since he signed with them back in 2020, posting nearly 1000 innings and over 1100 strikeouts. He’s also been a top playoff arm over that time as well, throwing 70 innings while posting a 2.18 ERA.

The team has been a better and more complete team with Wheeler back at the top of the rotation, and with him seemingly ending his work back in the majors, he’s all systems go for the remainder of the season.

Ranger Suarez Faces His Former Team

Probably one of the bigger stories coming out of this week’s series against the Red Sox is Ranger Suarez’s first career start against his former team. Suarez spent the first eight years of his Major League career in Philadelphia and has been part of the Phillies organization since he was signed as an international free agent at 17.

Suarez was always a fan-favorite during his time in Philly, working his way up from a long man, to a reliever, to a fifth starter, to an All-Star arm and Cy Young candidate. While it wasn’t always the best performances from Mr. Ranger, the left-hander was a huge part of the two division-winning and four consecutive postseason teams during the 2020’s.

He helped man down the backend of the rotation behind Wheeler and Aaron Nola, making them one of the best rotations in baseball. However, the rise of Cristopher Sanchez, the trade of Jesus Luzardo, and the expected debut of Andrew Painter basically made Suarez obsolete when he hit free agency this past winter.

While 2026 hasn’t been a great start for Suarez, he now has his first shot to prove to the Phillies that they should’ve kept him around when he takes on Philadelphia in Thursday night’s game.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Tuesday, May 12, 6:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Wednesday, May 13, 6:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Thursday, May 14, 6:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Zack Wheeler (RHP 1-0, 3.12 ERA) vs. Opener TBD

Game 2: Andrew Painter (RHP 1-4, 6.89 ERA) vs. Sonny Gray (RHP 3-1, 3.54 ERA)

Game 3: Jesus Luzardo (LHP 3-3, 5.98 ERA) vs. Ranger Suarez (LHP 2-2, 2.77 ERA)

The Numbers

• Record
• Phillies: 19-22
• Red Sex: 17-23

• Run Differential
• Phillies: -32
• Red Sox: -12

• Runs Scored Per Game
• Phillies: 4.10
• Red Sox: 3.97

• Runs Allowed Per Game
• Phillies: 5.05
• Red Sox: 4.21

Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox: