Pennsylvania Battle: Pirates vs. Phillies, June 29-July 2

The Phillies begin a short four-game homestand against their cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, for the final time this season. The Phillies won’t return home until after the All-Star Break after this series. 

The Phillies are coming off a road trip in which they went 5-2 and have won three straight series. They’ll look to keep that momentum rolling against the Pirates, as they trail the Atlanta Braves by only three games in the NL East. Since 2019, the Phillies have been 14-6 against the Pirates at home. 

Last Time They Met

These two teams last met back in mid-May, when the Phillies showed absolute dominance throughout the series. In the first game, the Phillies used their comeback magic to come back from an 8-3 deficit and win a thriller in 10 innings, 11-9. The second game was highlighted by Cristopher Sanchez‘s dominance. During his dominant run in May, in which he did not allow a single run, he showed it in this game by throwing a complete-game shutout, striking out a career-high 13 in a 6-0 Phillies win. The Phils completed the sweep the next day with yet another 6-0 win, with Zack Wheeler pitching seven scoreless innings and striking out eight.

Facing Skenes Again

The Pirates will be sending out their star pitcher, Paul Skenes, for Wednesday night’s contest. The last time the Phillies faced Skenes, they tagged him for six runs. Skenes has usually been unhittable whenever the Phillies have faced him, and they showed back in Pittsburgh that star pitchers aren’t always going to be stars.

Skenes hasn’t been having a “Paul Skenes” type of season in his third year in the majors. The former Rookie of the Year and Cy Young winner is currently in the worst stretch of his young career so far. Although his ERA is a solid 3.10, his command has wavered, and hard contact and pitch counts have shortened his outings. The Pirates also remain winless in the last eight starts Skenes has pitched in, and Skenes hasn’t won a game in June since his rookie year. 

The Phillies have shown that they can hit Skenes, and with his lingering struggles, the Phillies could bank on a strong offensive performance. 

Are We In For Another Comeback? 

In their series against Washington, the Phillies showed they were the comeback kids in full swing in that series. The three wins they got in Washington were via a comeback. They scored eight runs in the ninth and had go-ahead home runs in the ninth from Bryce Harper and Derek Hill. 

While a little of that comeback magic stalled in their series against the Mets, they were able to come from behind in their contest on Sunday, with Kyle Schwarber’s 30th home run being the deciding factor in a 5-4 Phillies victory. 

The Pirates have struggled with late-inning relief, and the Phillies could take advantage of that if their offense struggles against their starters. The Pirates have blown 17 saves so far this season, which is only behind the team the Phillies started their comebacks against, the Nationals. 

Game Times and Broadcasts

Monday, June 29, 6:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Tuesday, June 30, 6:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Wednesday, July 1, 6:40 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Thursday, July 2, 12:35 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Braxton Ashcraft (RHP, 7-3, 3.07 ERA) vs. Aaron Nola (RHP, 3-4, 5.58 ERA)

Game 2: Bubba Chandler (RHP, 3-7, 4.42 ERA) vs. Cristopher Sanchez (LHP, 9-3, 2.13 ERA)

Game 3: Paul Skenes (RHP, 6-7, 3.10 ERA) vs. Zack Wheeler (RHP, 8-1, 2.03 ERA)

Game 4: Jared Jones (RHP, 1-1, 5.76 ERA) vs. Alan Rangel (RHP, 0-1, 4.50)

By the Numbers

• Record
  • Phillies: 47-37
  • Pirates: 42-42

• Run Differential
  • Phillies: +2
  • Pirates: +23 

• Runs Scored Per Game
  • Phillies: 4.38
  • Pirates: 5.00

• Runs Allowed Per Game
  • Phillies: 4.36
  • Pirates: 4.72

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