Woes Go Westbound: Phillies vs. Padres Series Preview, May 25-27

Despite the Phillies’ burst of life after new manager Don Mattingly took the wheel, the Phils’ offense seems to be back in hibernation, losing four of the six games in their homestand.

Recently, the Phillies’ pitching appears to have reached a turning point. Starting pitching, with Cristopher Sanchez‘s historic scoreless streak stealing the show, has been excellent, and the bullpen has taken shape. The offense, however, has been nothing short of abysmal. In fact, the Phillies’ one-through-five hitters went a combined 8-54 (.148) in the weekend series against the Guardians.

Luckily, the Phillies are headed into a series where they will face a team experiencing eerily similar problems. Despite having a star-studded lineup, the San Diego Padres have the second-lowest team OPS in the National League. Nearly every one of their top players has underperformed.

Sound familiar?

If not, it should. The Phillies are not too far behind in the league offense rankings, but there’s no doubt the Padres have it worse. In fact, here are the slash lines of six past all-stars, all of whom have had a rocky start to 2026.

• Manny Machado: .174/.271/.337 (.608 OPS)
• Fernando Tatis Jr.: .247/.326/.289 (.615 OPS)
• Xander Bogaerts: .250/.320/.383 (.703 OPS)
• Jake Cronenworth: .144/.272/.196 (.468 OPS)
• Jackson Merrill: .202/.277/.322 (.599 OPS)
• Nick Castellanos: .190/.225/.352 (.577 OPS)

Between these six guys, there are a whopping 19 all-star selections, with Machado leading the pack with seven.

TL;DR? Here’s the summary: If you think no one has it worse than Philadelphia, you’re actually right. Somehow, the Padres still have a 31-21 record, sitting just 1.5 games behind the first-place Dodgers. For San Diego, an elite bullpen and some late-game heroics have been just enough to stay competitive atop the NL West.

So don’t let those stats fool you — this series is bound to be a fight.

Bad Blood?

There will be a few familiar faces in the home dugout of the San Diego Padres. Much of the offseason was spent discussing the Castellanos saga, as he produced one of the worst offensive years for the Phillies in 2025, much to the chagrin of Philadelphians. The once-All-Star outfielder was met with his fair share of boos last season, and, to say the least, his response was subpar.

Castellanos could often be seen with his hood up in the dugout, not hustling in games, and making snarky comments in postgame interviews. On multiple occasions, he publicly criticized Rob Thomson‘s coaching decisions in front of the media. What sealed Castellanos’s fate was an incident in Miami last season where, during a game, a disgruntled Castellanos brought a beer into the dugout and confronted Rob Thomson about being pulled from the game. After never fully earning back the trust and respect of his teammates and coaches, the Phillies opted to release Castellanos prior to Spring Training, and he was eventually signed by the San Diego Padres.

Needless to say, Castellanos is not much of a threat in the Padres’ lineup, posting four home runs and a .577 OPS in 120 at-bats.

And for the series finale, the Phils are set to face former Phillie Walker Buehler, who was acquired by the Phillies in late August just after being released by the Boston Red Sox. Despite his struggles in Boston, Buehler had an impressive run with the Phillies, allowing only one run in 13.2 innings.

For many, I’m sure he’s a long-lost memory, but it’s also worth noting that former Phil Nick Pivetta will be watching from the Padres’ dugout. Pivetta made four starts for the Padres before being placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation.

READ MORE ON CASTELLANOS:

The writing was on the wall for Nick Castellanos — and it came full circle

Time for a Fix

Amid the Phillies’ clear offensive woes, the struggles of Aaron Nola have somewhat gone under the radar. He is just a few innings short of being a qualified pitcher, but if he were, Nola would be sporting the league-worst ERA by a wide margin. Especially against left-handed hitters, Nola has been using his curveball more frequently, and he has actually gotten fewer swings and misses in 2026 compared to last season. Nola’s fastball command has been inconsistent, with his walk rate also increasing.

Less command means more margin of error, and when Nola makes a mistake, they tend to travel a long way. Nola has allowed nine runs in ten starts, more than any other Phillies pitcher.

In good news, this series could be Nola’s time to shine. He has been known to prefer warm weather, and he is going out west to face a struggling Padres lineup. With how good the Padres’ pitching staff has been, the pressure will be on Nola not to allow the Padres to acquire an early lead.

So if Nola is going to turn his season around, now would certainly be an ideal time.

Games Times and Broadcasts

Monday, May 25, 6:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Tuesday, May 26, 9:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Wednesday, May 27, 4:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 3-4, 4.85 ERA) vs. Randy Vasquez (RHP, 5-2, 2.96 ERA)

Game 2: Aaron Nola (RHP, 2-6, 6.04 ERA)  vs. Griffin Canning (RHP, 0-2, 9.00 ERA)

Game 3: Cristopher Sanchez (LHP, 5-2, 1.62 ERA) vs. Walker Buehler (RHP, 3-2, 5.05 ERA)

By the Numbers

• Record
  • Phillies: 26-27
  • Padres: 31-21
• Run Differential
  • Phillies: -24
  • Padres: +6
• Runs Scored Per Game
  • Philles: 4.02
  • Padres: 4.06
• Runs Allowed Per Game
  • Phillies: 4.66
  • Padres: 3.94

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