Phillies: How the 2020 schedule will likely be broken down
By Matt Rappa
Here is how the 2020 Phillies schedule will likely be broken down
Baseball is back. The Philadelphia Phillies will report to Citizens Bank Park next week, and the 60-game season is set to begin as early as July 23 or July 24 and run through September 27.
Major League Baseball has yet to announce the 2020 schedule, but it is known who the Phillies’ opponents will be — teams within their own division, as well as those in the American League East.
RELATED | Phillies: 3 things about each of 9 proposed 2020 opponents
Now, we have an understanding of just how often the Phillies, under new manger Joe Girardi, will likely face each team. In addition to taking on each of their National League East rivals 10 times, New York Post’s Joel Sherman is hearing the interleague breakdown will work similar to how it was arranged in 2018.
So, here is how that would look for the Phillies — keeping in mind each of their 60 games will include the designated hitter for the first time:
- 6 games vs. Toronto Blue Jays (with any away games possibly in Buffalo, New York)
- 4 games each vs. Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles
- 3 games each vs. New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays.
The Blue Jays have been linked to the Phillies as their interleague “natural rival,” and on every even year, the two teams square off six times. That appears to be true for even a shortened 2020 season, with TSN’s Scott Mitchell confirming there will still be six games between the two.
#BlueJays schedule will break down like this:
— Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN) June 24, 2020
-vs. Yankees x 10.
-vs. Red Sox x 10.
-vs. Rays x 10.
-vs. Orioles x 10.
-vs. Phillies x 6.
-14 remaining games divvied up between Mets, Nats, Braves, Marlins.
Facing the Yankees and the Rays the fewest amount of times among their nine overall 2020 opponents is good news for Girardi’s team. The Yankees are the reigning American League East champions, having won 103 games last season, and are entering 2020 with one of the best starting pitchers in the game, Gerrit Cole. The Rays, meanwhile, qualified for the American League Wild Card in 2019, winning 96 games.
RELATED | Phillies TV, radio broadcasters weigh in on the universal DH
In facing the Red Sox, the Phillies do not need to worry about opposing Mookie Betts nor David Price, as they were traded in the offseason to the Los Angeles Dodgers — a team Bryce Harper and company would not face at all until the postseason.
And, as long as Phillies pitching can keep rising slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at check, their six games against the Blue Jays should stay close.
As far as the Orioles? Girardi’s team should be able to take advantage, as well as their 10 games against the similarly lowly Miami Marlins.
Get ready for a fast-paced, intense season.