Phillies Series Preview: at Arizona Diamondbacks

The Philadelphia Phillies wrap up a long road trip with a visit to Chase Field in Phoenix to take on the host Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Arizona Diamondbacks came to Citizens Bank Park a week and a half ago trailing the host Phillies in the overall National League standings.

The Dbacks swept the Phils in that series to begin a five game winning streak and a sequence in which they won seven of eight games. That streak ended when Arizona lost their last two games over the weekend to the Colorado Rockies.

Arizona is now 36-42 and in 4th place in the NL West, 13.5 games back in those standings. The Phillies now sit in 4th place in the NL East at 32-45, and are now 9.5 games out of first.

The Diamondbacks have a handful of legitimate offensive threats in their lineup, starting with one of the best hitters in the game in 1st baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Goldschmidt was the 2015 NL MVP runner-up, and this year is hitting for a .301/.436/.522 slash line with 14 homers, 51 RBI, 43 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases.

2nd baseman Jean Segura came over from the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade this past January. Segura is hitting for a .311/.361/.439 slash line with team highs in runs scored with 46 and stolen bases with 13 of them.

Jake Lamb is the club’s 3rd baseman and is hitting for a .285/.364/.570 slash line with a team-high 15 homers, and is tied for the lead with 51 RBI.

Rookie Brandon Drury has stepped up to provide 11 doubles and eight home runs while playing both right field and 3rd base at times.

Left fielder Yasmany Tomas, a Cuban import who was seriously considered by the Phillies this past off-season before they passed on him, has a dozen home runs.

When manager Chip Hale goes to his bullpen, he calls upon 36-year old veteran Brad Ziegler at the end of games. Ziegler has 16 Saves, but has certainly been anything but dominant. The righty has allowed 33 hits over 33.1 innings with a 22/12 K:BB ratio.

The rest of the pen is filled with right-handers as well. Former starters Daniel Hudson and Randall Delgado, veteran Tyler Clippard, and young Jake Barrett make up that group. When the club needs a lefty, it usually turns to 36-year old Andrew Chafin.

As a group, the Dbacks bullpen has a propensity for issuing free passes. So if the Phillies can exercise some patience in the late innings, it may help them mount a comeback or build on a lead to nail down a game or two.

In this series, the Phillies hitters will face a trio of interesting Arizona starting pitchers: a veteran perennial Cy Young contender, and a 23-year old righty and 24-year old lefty, each of whom figures prominently in the Dbacks’ future.

This series also marks the end of a three-city, nine-game road trip, the second of three lengthy road sojourns for the Fightin’ Phils. The final one will come at the end of July.

Next: PHILLIES at DIAMONDBACKS: PITCHING MATCHUPS

PITCHING MATCHUPS

MONDAY: Vincent Velasquez (5-2, 3.65 ERA) vs Robbie Ray (4-6, 4.59 ERA): Ray is a 24-year old southpaw who was the Washington Nationals 12th round choice in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft out of a Tennessee high school. He was dealt by the Nats in December 2013 to the Detroit Tigers in a 3-player deal for pitcher Doug Fister, then swapped by the Tigers to the Dbacks the following December as part of a 3-team trade involving the Yankees. He has now made 44 starts over parts of three big league seasons. This year had been up and down for Ray, who has allowed 89 hits over 80.1 innings with a 93/35 K:BB ratio. He beat the Phils just 10 days ago, striking out seven over six innings in a 10-2 Dbacks blowout. Velasquez is making his first start coming off the disabled list, and showing that he is healthy is half the battle. The other half, assuming health is fine, will be showing increased command and self-control on the mound.

TUESDAY: Jerad Eickhoff (3-9, 3.36 ERA) vs Zack Greinke (10-3, 3.61 ERA): Greinke was the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner while with the Kansas City Royals. He signed this past off-season as a big-ticket free agent with Arizona, the 3x All-Star and 2x Gold Glover receiving a six-year deal just short of $180 million. Ten days prior to this start, Greinke shut down the Phillies on three hits over eight innings for his 10th win of the season. He hasn’t quite lived up to his contract here in its first season, but was on a major roll before hitting a bump in Colorado last week. Of course, Coors Field can be rough on any pitcher, so that can be taken with a grain of salt. Eickhoff has been the Phillies best starting pitcher over the last couple of weeks, and looks to deliver his 11th Quality Start of the season in this, his 16th outing.

WEDNESDAY: Zach Eflin (0-2, 6.28 ERA) vs Archie Bradley (3-3, 4.50 ERA): Bradley is a 23-year old rookie right-hander who was Arizona’s 1st round pick at 7th overall back in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft out of a Oklahoma high school. Over 16 big league starts dating back to his 2015 debut, Bradley has allowed just 75 hits over 81.2 innings with a 72/46 K:BB ratio. Free passes have been a particular concern as he has issued at least three walks in six of his eight starts this season. Eflin will be making his fourth career start since his recent call-up. The 22-year old has gotten better in each outing, and continues his quest to demonstrate that he deserves to be considered a piece for the Phillies rebuilding longterm rotation.

Next: PHILLIES KEYS TO VICTORY IN THE DESERT

PHILLIES KEYS TO VICTORY

Lineup Putting it All Together: against the Giants, the Phillies began to show some signs that they may be able to put a legitimate offensive attack together. For that to work, it has to all come together at once. That means the key young hitters have to produce in the same games: Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco, and Tommy Joseph.

Defense Play Tight and Sound: the 54 errors committed by the Phillies is tied for the fourth-worst record in MLB. They’ve made too many at key points in recent weeks, a number coming back to haunt them with opponents turning them into runs. It’s not just errors, but also some poor decisions on defense, and failure to reach and put away some balls that appeared they should have been handled. This is a generally poor defensive club at this point, and that needs to be tightened up.

Starting Pitchers Keep the Ball Down: with Eickhoff and Eflin, the Phillies have a pair of young arms who seem to understand the importance of keeping the ball down, and have been able to execute that understanding in their most recent starts. This Dbacks team has some pop, so that will be especially important this week.

Next: PHILLIES TV & RADIO BROADCAST SCHEDULE

PHOENIX / CHASE FIELD WEATHER

NOTE: Chase Field has a retractable roof, so weather should not be a game factor

This Afternoon

Mostly sunny, with a high near 108. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Tonight

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 88. Calm wind becoming east northeast around 5 mph after midnight.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 108. East northeast wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 88. East northeast wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 105. East northeast wind around 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.

Next: PHILLIES - DBACKS INJURIES / DISABLED LISTS

PHILS – DBACKS INJURIES / DISABLED LISTS

Arizona Diamondbacks

Philadelphia Phillies

Next: Phils Fight, But Giants Walkoff Winners