The Diamondbacks take on the Philadelphia Phillies for a three game series
Tonight starts three games at Chase Field between the Phillies and Diamondbacks. This would have usually published on Monday. Unfortunately, the Dbacks didn’t name Tuesday’s starter until an hour or so ago. With that said, here are the pitching match-ups and things to watch for the series:
Tuesday, 08/17:
Taylor Widener comes off the IL after recovering from an illness. He faces trade-deadline acquisition Kyle Gibson of the Phillies. Taylor’s stat-line is 1-1, 4.89 ERA, and 50 K’s. The AL All-Star pitcher Kyle Gibson has a stat-line of 8-4, 3.12 ERA, and 105 K’s.
Wednesday, 08/18:
The Dbacks will be starting a mystery person tomorrow against Ranger Suarez and the Phillies. Torey likes to keep sports writers on their toes with who will be pitching. As for Ranger, he is 5-3, 1.07 ERA, and 51 K’s. Ranger’s been hot lately providing the Phillies with much-needed back-end rotation starts.
Thursday, 08/19:
Thank you Girardi and the Phillies for having your rotation set. The Dbacks throwing a ghost out there on the mound. As for the Phillies, their starter is Zack Wheeler. Wheeler, the All-Star and my favorite for the NL Cy Young Award, has been dominant this year. He’s 10-7 with a 2.56 ERA, and a whopping 187 K’s. Christian Walker and David Peralta have had some success off Wheeler in the past. Walker’s 4/6 with a home run and Ketel Marte is 3/8 with a home run.
What to watch for in this series
There’s multiple things to watch for in this series. The first is that our beloved relief pitcher Archie Bradley will be making his first return to the valley following a mid-season trade last year to the Reds. Archie’s been hot lately out of the bullpen giving vibes of his 2017 season. His stat-line is 7-1, 2.70 ERA, 2 saves, 36.2 IP’s, 22K’s and 16 walks. I know I miss Archie and his personality.
Another piece of the series to watch is if the Diamondbacks can win a game or two during this series. The Phillies are in a ferocious fight for the NL East lead with the Braves and Mets. You can read more about this here.
Finally, the pressure is on for the vets of the ball club to start performing or face replacement. Slumping players like Walker and Peralta need to start showing their batting prowess asap. Players in Triple-AAA like Seth Beer are proving every day, they are ready for the big leagues.
Look for an updated article whenever the Diamondbacks name the other two starters.
As always,
May the Force be with You…