South Siders In South Philly: White Sox vs. Phillies Series Preview, June 5-7

If you told me two months ago that the Phillies and the White Sox would share the same record when they met during the first week of June for their series, I would’ve said there’s no way the Phillies would be a bottom five team in baseball.

However, neither team is a bottom-five team in the league; instead, both teams are currently in the second wild card for their respective leagues.

The White Sox have done a complete 180 compared to where they were just two years ago, when they lost 121 games during one season, the most a team has ever lost in a single regular season since 1899, when the Cleveland Spiders lost 134. This season, they currently have 33 wins; they didn’t reach 33 wins in 2024 until September 8.

But this is a different White Sox team, one that is being led by young players, and with the way the American League is shaping up this season, it has a real shot to be playing postseason ball come October. Like Philadelphia, Chicago started a dreadful 6-13 but has battled back over the past 40+ games, going 27-16 to get back over .500

However, the Phillies are still miles better talent and depth-wise and have to keep their foot on the gas pedal to keep themselves above .500 following their second series sweep over the Padres.

Young Talent? Never Heard of It

While over the years, the Phillies have struggled to get young talent to develop into future stars, the White Sox seem to have multiple budding young stars who are breaking out and leading this Chicago team to a playoff spot through the first third of the season.

Colson Montgomery has been the true superstar the White Sox were hoping he’d be when they drafted him in the first round back in 2021, as he’s slugged 15 bombs and 36 RBIs to open the season while ranking in the 98th percentile with +4 outs above average, trailing just Bobby Witt Jr. for shortstops.

Along with Montgomery, Chase Meidroth has totaled 61 hits this season and ranks in the top 30 in the AL in average and on-base percentage, while Miguel Vargas has belted 15 homers and 41 RBIs this year.

The Phillies fortunately don’t have to worry about the White Sox’s big free agent signing this past winter, who’s been making headlines with his hot start to 2026, Munetaka Murakami. Murakami is currently on the injured list with a right hamstring strain, and he’ll miss the entire series in Philadelphia. It’s a huge win for the Phillies, as Murakami leads the White Sox in home runs with 20 and RBIs with 41.

Brandon Marsh Continues to Just Hit

While the young talent hasn’t been the brightest thing for the Phillies over the past few years, one thing that’s been bright this season has been the incredible start for Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh.

Last season, Marsh did not collect a single hit during the entire month of April, getting promptly sent down to clear his head and rehab an “injury.” When Marsh returned that May, he looked like a new player, batting .303, with an on-base percentage of .358 and an OPS of .836 during his final 116 games of the season.

Marsh is hitting .333 this season and became the first qualified Phillies batter to bat .332 or better through the team’s first 60 games since Carlos Ruiz in 2012. With 67 hits, Marsh leads the Phillies in that category by a wide margin, with Trea Turner 10 hits behind him with 50 more at-bats.

Since his return from the IL in May of last year, Marsh is batting .314 with 169 hits, ranking near the top of those stats throughout all of baseball.

Many have questioned for years whether the deal for Marsh back at the 2022 trade deadline, where the Phillies sent top prospect Logan O’Hoppe to the Angels, was a good one. While catching this season hasn’t been the easiest conversion for the Phillies, it’s safe to say Dave Dombrowski and co. can chalk this one in the win category for moves over the past five years.

Can Jesus Luzardo End His Home Woes?

Someone who apparently hates playing at Citizens Bank Park is Jesus Luzardo.

Luzardo’s pitching splits when he’s pitching on the road versus at home are night and day different, with the southpaw showing much more success when he’s not backed by the rowdy Philadelphia faithful.

This year at home, Luzardo is 1-4 with a 7.31 ERA over 32 innings pitched, with 28 total runs allowed. In comparison on the road, Luzardo is 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA over 35 innings and has allowed just six runs. The other interesting part is that the walks and strikeouts are nearly similar as well, so it seems that batters are finding ways to get hits off Luzardo more easily when he’s at home, which is usually the opposite for pitchers.

For whatever reason, though, Luzardo enjoys starting the road, as he’s allowed two runs or fewer in every start. Meanwhile, he’s allowed five runs or more in four of his six home starts, including a nine-run, 12-hit disaster back in April during the middle of the Phillies’ 10-game losing streak.

Luzardo is on the bump for the opener Friday evening, hoping to start stacking some better home starts in a row against a White Sox’s lineup that has little to no success against Luzardo during his time in the Majors.

Games Times and Broadcasts

Friday, June 5, 6:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Saturday, June 6, 4:05 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Sunday, June 7, 1:35 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Anthony Kay (LHP, 5-1, 3.77 ERA) vs. Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 4-4, 4.30 ERA)

Game 2: Sean Burke (RHP 2-3, 3.72 ERA) vs. Andrew Painter (RHP 1-6, 5.74 ERA)

Game 3: David Sandlin (RHP 1-1, 8.10 ERA) vs. Aaron Nola (RHP 3-4, 5.55 ERA)

By the Numbers

• Record
  • Phillies: 33-29
  • White Sox: 33-29
• Run Differential
  • Phillies: -24
  • White Sox: 11
• Runs Scored Per Game
  • Philles: 3.87
  • White Sox: 4.73
• Runs Allowed Per Game
  • Phillies: 4.26
  • White Sox: 4.55

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