Philadelphia Phillies Travel to Pittsburgh for Four-Game Set with Pirates

The Philadelphia Phillies look to gain ground in the standings with a four-game series against the rebuilding Pittsburgh Pirates.

Leo Morgenstern | Jul 28, 2022

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies' 2022 season continues to be full of surprises.

Last weekend, in their first series of the second half, Philadelphia was swept by the Chicago Cubs. They looked utterly overmatched by an ostensibly inferior team.

Then, they welcomed the reigning World Champion Atlanta Braves to town and kept up with them every step of the way, taking two out of three games.

The Cubs series proved that this team remains deeply flawed. The Braves series was a reminder of how talented the team still is.

What will we learn from the Pirates series? Hopefully, that the Phillies can put the Cubs sweep behind them and focus on beating weaker opponents for the rest of the year.

With 31 games left against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Washington, Chicago, and Arizona, beating up on rebuilding teams will be Philadelphia’s best path to the postseason.

Here’s how the Phillies stack up against the Pirates this weekend.

Game One: Thursday 7:05 - NBCSP | Zack Wheeler vs Zach Thompson

Zack Wheeler was dominant in his last start, but the Phillies fell to the Cubs 5-2 in extras. — Zack Wheeler was dominant in his last start, but the Phillies fell to the Cubs 5-2 in extras / © Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

In this battle of Zack and Zach, Philadelphia should have a huge advantage. While Zach Thompson has looked like a competent big league starter so far in his career, he’s nothing for the Phillies offense to be afraid of.

Thompson is a right-handed pitcher who allows plenty of walks and home runs, so Kyle Schwarber should have a field day. And with Wheeler on the mound against a weak Pittsburgh offense, Philadelphia won’t need to score much to walk away with the win.

Game Two: Friday 7:05 - NBC10 | Bailey Falter vs José Quintana

This could be Bailey Falter’s last start, as the Phillies look to add another starting pitcher / © Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

At some point in the next few days, Dave Dombrowski is all but certain to trade for a new starting pitcher to replace the injured Zach Eflin. Bailey Falter has done a serviceable job filling in for the meantime, but his 5.18 ERA in 10 games doesn’t inspire much confidence. Barring another unforeseen injury, this should be Falter’s last start at the big league level for quite a while.

Falter will try to make the most of the opportunity, but the Phillies still won’t have the upper hand in this matchup. Pirates starter José Quintana has been having an strong season, posting a 3.70 ERA in 19 starts.

Unless Quintana is dealt before game time on Friday, this is going to be the toughest game in the series for Philadelphia.

Game Three: Saturday 7:15 - FOX | Ranger Suárez vs Mitch Keller

Ranger Suárez has been excellent for the Phillies since the start of June. — Ranger Suárez has been excellent for the Phillies since the start of June / © Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Ranger Suárez has been terrific lately, posting an ERA under three since the start of June. He was excellent in his last appearance, and although he left the game a little early, there is no reason to believe he won’t be ready to make his next start.

Mitch Keller has been a competent back-end starter for the Pirates this season, but he doesn’t look like much more than that. Hopefully, the Phillies offense can capitalize.

Game Four: Sunday 1:35 - NBCSP | Aaron Nola vs JT Brubaker

Aaron Nola was hit hard by the Atlanta Braves in his last start. — Aaron Nola was hit hard by the Atlanta Braves in his last start / © Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

JT Brubaker has shown considerable improvement this season, posting similar numbers to those of his teammate José Quintana and looking like a decent mid-rotation starter.

That’s all well and good, but he’ll be facing Aaron Nola. Although Nola got hit around a bit by the Braves in his last start, he has still been having a terrific season, and he should make easy work of the Pirates lineup.

Philadelphia should certainly win this series against a weaker opponent. While a sweep is a bit much to ask for, expect the Phillies to take three of four from the Pirates this weekend. If they can, they’ll finish off the month of July six games above .500.

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Published Jul 28, 2022

LEO MORGENSTERN

Leo Morgenstern is a writer and editor for Inside the Phillies. He also writes for FanGraphs and Just Baseball, and his work has appeared on Pitcher List and Baseball Prospectus. He previously covered the Phillies for SB Nation's The Good Phight. You can follow him on Twitter @morgensternmlb.