Clash in Sac Town: Phillies Head to Sacramento for Series Against the Athletics
The Philadelphia Phillies will look to continue their streak with a three-game series against the Athletics in Sacramento. The Phillies enter this series red hot with a seven-game win streak after back-to-back sweeps against the Pirates and the Dodgers. Their offense has led the team during their winning streak, with Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper leading the charge. For Schwarber, he has been lights out all season for the Phillies during his final year under his current contract, and has played like he deserves a new contract from the Phillies. Schwarber is batting .253 this year to go along with 17 home runs, tied for the most in the MLB. On the other hand, Harper had struggled to start the year but has come back into form ever since getting a buzz cut. Since the haircut, Harper has raised his batting average from .228 to .276 and has looked like the player the Phillies need. The Phillies currently sit atop the NL East with a 32-18 record, but the Phillies' aspirations are much deeper. The team is looking to win a championship and looks to keep the hot streak going against the Athletics.
As for the Athletics, their season has gone in the opposite direction as the Phillies, but there was not as much pressure as well. The team is going through its first season in a temporary home in Sacramento after it left Oakland. There were not a lot of expectations with a young team that has the fourth-lowest salary in the MLB. The Athletics have had their moments this season despite a 22-29 record. Entering the series, on the other hand, the team is struggling heavily with a nine-game losing streak before the matchup. The team has some pieces, with Jacob Wilson leading the charge offensively along with Tyler Soderstrom. Wilson leads the A’s in batting average with a .342 average; however, Soderstrom is right behind him with a .281 average. Both players will look to pull the upset and steal one or more games against the Phillies and defend their home field.
5/23 - 10:05 p.m. EST
In the series opener, it will be the Phillies' ace Zack Wheeler getting the start against Jeffrey Springs for the Athletics. Wheeler, since arriving in Philadelphia, has been completely shut down on the mound, and this season has been the same story. After some bumps in the middle of April, Wheeler has returned to form, and that has shown in his last two starts. In those starts, Wheeler went at least six innings in both while giving up zero runs and striking out a combined 14 batters across the two games. As a whole, Wheeler has had a great start to the season with a 5-1 record to go along with a 2.67 ERA while picking up 80 strikeouts, second in the MLB. As for Springs, he has also been good this season, but not to the level that Wheeler has been at. He enters the game with a 5-3 record to go along with a 3.91 ERA and 41 strikeouts. The Athletics as a whole have performed well during his starts, as they have won five out of his 10 starts. The Phillies will look to jump on Springs and pick up the win in the first game of the series.
5/24 - 10:05 p.m. EST
In the second game of the series, it will be Cristopher Sanchez for the Phillies against an unknown starter for the Athletics, as it has yet to be announced. For Sanchez, he has proved to be a vital piece for the Phillies the past two seasons, as a third to fourth starter. Last year, Sanchez had a 3.32 ERA across 181.2 innings of work, which was nearly 90 more innings than any other year in his career up to this point. This year has been similar with a 3.10 ERA to go along with a 4-1 to, yet again providing vital innings for the Phillies. Outside of his work on the mound, the Phillies have performed very well as a whole when he is on the mound. The team has won seven out of its nine starts this season and has scored at least four runs in each. The team will look to keep their success with Sanchez on the mound going into Game Two of the series.
5/25 - 4:05 p.m. EST
In the series finale, it will be Jesus Luzardo for the Phillies against Gunnar Hoglund for the Athletics. Starting with Hoglund, he has had a tough season up to this point through four starts so far. He comes in with a 1-2 record to go along with a 5.06 ERA while also struggling to stay deep in games. In his four starts, he has only gone to at least the sixth inning once, while the Athletics as a team have lost three out of his four starts. On the other hand, for Luzardo, his season has gone as well as it could go. Since being acquired by the Marlins in a trade, Luzardo has a perfect 5-0 record to go along with a 1.95 ERA, seventh in the MLB, and has tallied 67 strikeouts. His performance this season so far has thrown him into the conversation for early-season Cy Young candidates. The Phillies will look to keep their momentum going and pick up their third straight sweep against the Athletics.
