This Wednesday the (78-62) Philadelphia Phillies and the (58-83) Miami Marlins will play game two of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 6:40 PM EST inside loanDepot park. These two teams just faced off a week ago, as the Phillies walked away with the series win.
The Philadelphia Phillies are coming into this one after sweeping the Washington Nationals. The Phillies looked great at the dish, as they scored 20 combined runs in three games. They will need to stay hot at the plate if they want to take down the Marlins on the road.
The Miami Marlins are entering this one after splitting a short two-game series with the Texas Rangers. The Marlins looked incredible at the plate in the final game, as they scored 10 runs. They will need to carry that momentum over into this one if they want to fend off the Phillies.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
Philadelphia looked incredible in their last series, as they swept the Washington Nationals. They are now 6-4 in their last 10 and still holding the second NL Wild Card spot. They have a 1.5-game lead over the San Diego Padres. The Phillies are also in third place and 10 games back from the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
At the plate, Philadelphia is scoring 4.80 runs per game and they are hitting .256 as a team. This is the fifth most runs scored per game and the eighth highest overall team batting average. They are consistently driving in men when they are in scoring position and they have also shown that they can score multiple different ways. The Phillies can string together multiple hits or clear the bases with a moonshot over the outfield walls. They are averaging 1.29 bombs per game, which is the sixth most in the MLB. Watch for Kyle Schwarber at the dish, as he leads the team with 37 home runs hit this season. I would also expect the Phillies to stay aggressive once they have reached base safely. They have a decent amount of speed inside their lineup, as they have already swiped 88 bases this season, which is the seventh most.
According to MLB.com, the Phillies will be starting Kyle Gibson on the mound. He is currently 9-6 with a 4.57 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. In his last start, he pitched for 5.0 innings and gave up nine hits and four earned runs. That was his second rough start in a row, as he gave up seven earned runs to the Giants two starts back. He has also struggled on the road, as he is 2-3 with a 5.74 ERA. The Philadelphia bullpen is allowing 4.09 runs per game, which is the 18th highest bullpen ERA in the league. As a team, the Phillies are allowing 4.27 runs per game, which is the 13th least in the league.