This Saturday the (73-58) Philadelphia Phillies and the (61-68) San Francisco Giants will play game two of their three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 4:05 PM EST inside Oracle Park. The last time these two teams matched up the San Francisco Giants took two of three games and won that series.
The Philadelphia Phillies are coming into this one after losing their previous series to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Phillies struggled on the mound in the first two games, as they surrendered 25 combined runs in their two losses. They will need to be better in the field and on the mound if they want to bounce back against the Giants.
The San Francisco Giants are entering this one after being swept for their second consecutive series. They fell to the Padres in the last one, as the Giants couldn't score enough runs to stay competitive. They scored 12 combined runs in three games, as they will have to heat up at the plate if they want to win this one.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Philadelphia Phillies are 7-3 in their last 10 games played, as their strong play has allowed them to keep the second NL Wild Card spot for now. They did struggle in their last series, though. The Phillies are also in third place in the NL East, as they are still 10.0 games back from the first-place New York Mets. They will need to go on a serious run if they want to have a chance at winning their division.
At the plate, Philadelphia is scoring 4.81 runs per game and they are hitting .254 as a team. This is the fifth most run scored per game and the eighth highest overall team batting average. They have consistently reached base this season and they are also showing up when they have men in scoring position. They have one of the deepest batting lineups in the league, as they can string together hits or clear the bases with a moonshot over the outfield walls. The Phillies are hitting 1.27 bombs per game, which is t he seventh-highest average in the MLB. Watch for Kyle Schwarber, he is currently leading the team with 36 home runs this season. Philadelphia will also stay aggressive once they have reached base safely. They have already stolen 86 bases this season, which is the fourth most in the entire league.
According to MLB.com, the Phillies will start Noah Syndergaard on the mound in this one. He is currently 8-9 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He did get roughed up in his last start against the Pirates, though. He only pitched for 5.2 innings and he gave up nine hits and five earned runs. He has also had issues on the road this season, as he is 2-6 with a 4.93 ERA outside of his home ballpark. The Phillies bullpen has also been up and down this season, as they are allowing 4.06 runs per game. This is the 18th lowest bullpen ERA in the league. As a team, the Phillies are allowing 4.19 runs per game, which is the 12th lowest average in the league.