Phillies Arrange Starting Rotation for Long Series with San Francisco Giants

The Philadelphia Phillies will throw all of their starters against the San Francisco Giants — except for the one considered their ace.

Matthew Postins | Apr 14, 2025

Apr 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants have two of the best aces in the game — but they won’t face each other this week.

The Phillies (9-6) and the Giants (11-4) will play a four-game series starting on Monday at Citizens Bank Park. This is the start of a week-long homestand for the Phillies, who will host the Miami Marlins in a three-games series starting on Friday.

Philadelphia enters the week one game behind the New York Mets in the National League East Division.

The Phillies won’t have Zack Wheeler at their disposal for this series. That’s a shame because his spot in the rotation is aligned with Giants ace Logan Webb, who is also unavailable. Each will pitch on Friday.

While the Giants will pitch two former Cy Young winners, the Phillies will toss its remaining four starters, three of which are All-Stars and the last of which is off to a fantastic start.

Monday’s game, set for 6:45 p.m. eastern time, pits Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker (1-0, 0.00) against Giants right-hander Landen Roupp (0-1, 3.60).

Walker is making waves while Ranger Suarez works his way back from an injury. After a sub-par last season, Walker is putting it behind him, as he hasn’t allowed a run in 10.2 innings in two starts, giving up eight hits and four walks. He’s struck out nine.

Roupp is the Giants’ fifth starter, but the youngster is off to a good start. He took the loss against Cincinnati on April 8, giving up just one earned run on seven hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked none. Across two games he’s struck out 12 hitters in 10 innings.

Tuesday’s game, also set for 6:45, sees Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo (2-0, 1.50) face three-time Cy Young winner and Giants right-hander Justin Verlander (0-0, 6.92).

Luzardo has thrived in the Philadelphia rotation. He’s gone at least five innings in each of his three starts, and he gave up six hits and one run in his last start against Atlanta. He struck out a season-high 11 hitters in his Philadelphia debut against Washington on March 29.

Verlander is heading into his fourth start after a no-decision against Cincinnati, during which he went 5.2 innings and gave up five hits and five earned runs. He struck out a season-high nine but walked three.

Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (0-3, 5.51) will face Giants left-hander Robbie Ray (3-0, 2.93) in Wednesday’s game at 6:45 p.m.

Nola has been on the wrong side of each of his three starts, but he’s gone at least five innings in each contest. He gave up just two runs in five innings in his last outing against St. Louis but walked four and struck out seven.

Ray is seeking his fourth straight win. His last win was a six-inning game called due to rain during which he gave up two hits and one run. He struck out seven and walked four.

Thursday’s finale, set for 4:05 p.m., pits Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez (1-0, 3.12) against Giants right-hander Jordan Hicks (1-1, 5.87).

Sánchez, who went to the All-Star Game last year, just claimed his first win of the season against St. Louis on Saturday. He allowed one earned run in 6.1 innings, but did give up eight hits and two walks. He struck out three. He’s pitched at least five innings in each of his first three starts.

Hicks gave up eight hits and seven runs in four innings in his last start against the New York Yankees. He walked three and struck out three. Before that, he had given up just three earned runs in 11 innings.

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