Zack Wheeler will lead things off for the Philadelphia Phillies as they try to rebound against their National League East foe, the Miami Marlins. They have won  10-of-14 series since interim manager Don Mattingly took over, but were mostly dominated by the first-place Brewers over the weekend.

Now, Philly returns home to welcome an always-game Marlins squad to Citizens Bank Park for a three-game set. If they wish to get back to their winning ways, they will have to do so against a guy in his 20th-career start, a former Phillie having a career year and a former Cy Young Award winner.

Despite taking three of four when the teams met in Miami, it is never easy against the Marlins. Let’s dive into the mid-week matchup.

Phillies-Marlins series details

Who: Miami Marlins (36-36) @ Philadelphia Phillies (38-33)

When:  Mon. June 15, 6:40 p.m., Tues. June 16, 6:40 p.m., Wed. June 17, 1:05 p.m. 

Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA

Scheduled Pitching Matchups

G1: Ryan Gusto (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. Zack Wheeler (5-1, 2.22 ERA)

G2: Tyler Phillips (1-1, 1.86 ERA) vs. Jesús Luzardo (5-4, 4.35 ERA)

G3: Sandy Alcantara (6-4, 4.25 ERA) vs. Andrew Painter (1-7, 6.43 ERA)

Phillies notes

Philadelphia’s offense was shut out twice against Milwaukee, with a nine-run, 17-hit barrage sandwiched in the middle.  The Phillies went 5-for-58 with no extra-base hits, no walks and 21 strikeouts in the losses. 

In Saturday’s victory, Bryce Harper was the only Phillies starter who failed to record a hit. Harper has struggled with the bat as of late,  going 10-for-51 (.196) over his last 16 games. There is a positive from that stretch, however. Bryce has continued to show an incredible eye, reinforcing his off-season goal of walking more often. 

Despite his low average,  Harper has an on-base percentage of .354, supported by his 13 walks. Compared with only 15 strikeouts over that period, Harper is still able to make a true impact at the plate. However, there is a much bigger problem at the top of the order.

Trea Turner has been stuck in a season-long rut. Out of 156 qualified hitters in ML this season, Turner ranks No. 135 in batting average, just a season after winning the batting crown. Only six men have an on-base percentage lower than his (.269), and his slugging percentage is not good enough to raise his OPS above No. 150. 

Turner has never been known for a high walk rate, but it is now partnered with what would be the worst strikeout rate of his career at 23.0% should it hold at this rate.  Don Mattingly mentioned the possibility of giving Turner a few days off in the near future, but noted they will be trying to do so for all of their regulars.

Marlins notes

Miami is riding high as the winner in  10 of the 12 June contests.  Sunday afternoon, they hung a loss on Paul Skenes, clobbering two home runs off the reigning Cy Young Award winner – the most he has surrendered in a game this season. The Marlins are the only team to have defeated Jacob Misiorowski, Shohei Ohtani and Skenes this season.

The Marlins are in their best stretch of the season and have an MLB-best 2.52 ERA as a team, holding opposing hitter to a .207 average. Since June began, they have the sixth-best OBP (.345) and the fifth-most steals (13). The pitching staff leads the MLB with a 2.52 ERA and .207 OBA. 

Former Phillies pitcher Tyler Phillips has become a Swiss Army Knife for Miami and will start Tuesday, his fourth of the year (20th appearance). Phillips has pitched in bulk, been in multiple save situations, and has stepped up to help a very injured rotation. In his three starts, Phillips has a 1.98 ERA and a 1.86 overall.  One thing the Phillies may have on their side is that he has been singificantly worse on the road than at home this season.

MORE:  García injury exposes Phillies’ yearslong outfield problem

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