Keystone State Clash: Phillies Set for Weekend Series Against the Pirates
The Philadelphia Phillies continue their home stand with a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend. As for the Phillies, the team was on a hot streak the past couple of series, ever since a series win on the road against the Cubs, which sparked a momentum swing for the team. The Phillies have had an 11-3 record in their last 14 games and have played their best baseball of the season so far. The team did cool off a bit as they dropped a three-game series to the Cardinals, two games to one. The Phillies performed well in game two of the series behind Jesus Luzardo. Outside of that game, the team did not perform up to their standards. The team will look to bounce back from the series loss against the Cardinals in the series against the Pirates and continue their hunt for a championship.
As for the Pirates, they have had a tough season up to this point with a 15-29 record and sit last in the NL Central. The Pirates do come into this matchup with some momentum as of late against NL East opponents. The team won their previous series against the Braves before competing in a three-game series with the Phillies’ rival, the New York Mets. The team ended up losing the series two games to one; however only lost each game by one run. The Pirates are still a very young and fun team that is only a couple of moves away from competing. The team will look to steal a series on the road against the Phillies and spark some juice into their team heading down the stretch.
Friday, 5/16 - 6:45 p.m. EST
In the first game of the series, it will be Ranger Suarez for the Phillies against Andrew Heaney for the Pirates. Starting with Suarez, this start will mark his third appearance of 2025 since returning from the IL earlier this year. In his first appearance back, Suarez struggled mightily, giving up seven runs in only 3.2 innings of work. Following that performance, Suarez was able to go back to his previous form last season against the Guardians, where he pitched seven shutout innings. The Phillies will look for Suarez to continue his hot streak during his starts against the Pirates. On the other side, Heaney has been up and down for the Pirates all season. When Heaney is on top of his game, he has been dominant with two appearances where he went seven or more innings. On the other hand, when he has struggled, he has struggled badly, especially recently. In two of his last three appearances, Heaney has not reached the fourth inning while also giving up four runs in each. The Phillies will hope his recent trend continues and hope for the Game One win.
Saturday 5/17 - 6:05 p.m. EST
In the pivotal second game of the series, it will be the Phillies’ ace Zack Wheeler against Carmen Mlodzinski of the Pirates. Ever since he arrived in Philadelphia, Wheeler has been dominant on the mound for the Phillies, and this year, nothing has changed. Wheeler comes into the matchup with a 4-1 record to go along with a 2.95 ERA and 74 strikeouts, the second most in the MLB. This season as a whole, Wheeler has had some hiccups throughout the middle of April but has bounced back since then. In his most recent start against the Guardians, Wheeler went seven scoreless innings en route to a Phillies win. When Wheeler is on the mound, the Phillies have done extremely well, as they have won six out of the nine games he has appeared in. As for Mlodzinski, he has struggled throughout this season for the Pirates. He enters the matchup with a 1-3 record to go along with a 5.20 ERA. In his starts, Mlodzinski doesn’t go deep into games as he hasn’t reached at least the sixth inning once this year and has only given up less than two runs twice out of his eight appearances. The Phillies will need to jump on Mlodzinski early and hope that he continues his trend of not making it deep into his starts.
Sunday 5/18 - 1:35 p.m. EST
In the series finale, it will be a battle of two stars going against each other on the mound. For the Phillies, it will be Cristopher Sanchez getting that start, and for Pittsburgh, it will be sensation Paul Skenes. For Sanchez, he has had a very solid season for the Phillies up to this point in the year with a 4-1 record and a 2.91 ERA. The pitcher, throughout his young career, has performed extremely well at home, and that has not changed this season, with a 4-1 record at home this season. On the other side, Skenes has been one of the best pitchers in the MLB since his debut last season. This season, Skenes has performed well but has struggled to get support around him during his starts, which has resulted in a 3-4 record. Outside of the record, Skenes has pitched well with a 2.63 ERA to go along with 53 strikeouts in those starts. Additionally, Skenes goes deep in his starts as he has gone to at least the sixth inning in seven out of his nine starts. The Phillies’ offense will be in for a challenge against Skenes on Sunday and will have to bring their best to collect the win.
