The Phillies schedule has officially been released
After months of wondering if there was even going to be a season, we finally got the 2020 Phillies schedule.
What the schedule doesn’t have is grueling 10 game road trips out west or Business Person Specials. What it does have is a lot of road games to start the year and a tough final stretch.
The rules of the 2020 schedule are a bit complex, but here’s a look at how it all works.
- Each team plays 40 games within their division
- 10 games over three series versus each NL East opponent
- Home/Road games split into 7/3 or 6/4 series
- Each team plays 20 interleague games
- Interleague games will be played against the AL East to make travel easier
- 6 games will be played against each AL East team
- Yankees, Orioles, Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox
- Each team has only six days off once the season starts through the last day, scheduled for Sept. 27
Now, here’s the schedule released by MLB Network:
Your 2020 Phillies Schedule. 20 games on the road against teams with winning records. pic.twitter.com/pLlEiSu1Zt
— PHILLIES TBOH (@FS_TBOH) July 6, 2020According to the full league schedule, the Phillies will play seven 1:05/1:35 p.m. games this year.
Here is some instant reaction to the Phillies schedule release.
The Phillies will play the Marlins on opening day and start with 5 home games
The Phillies will start the season at home against the Miami Marlins in a 7:05 game. Hopefully Aaron Nola will be ready after missing the first week of camp due to COVID-19 protocol for coming in contact with a confirmed case. Nola noted that he has tested negative for the virus and was only following the precautions before reporting to camp.
The Marlins are a young team but finished last season in dead last in the National League East. Some might give the Phillies a 3-0 start to the season off the bat, but Miami has some pieces that will keep them competitive.
Miami has a couple of options when it comes to their opening day starter. Their website lists Sandy Alcantara as their number one starter, but that could change for a myriad of reasons at this point. Alcantara pitched two complete game shutouts last year and had a 3.88 ERA in 32 starts. An All-Star in his first full season as a starter, Alcantara led the league with 14 losses, though playing for a terrible Marlins team didn’t help that.
After the Marlins the Phillies get the Yankees and should hopefully miss Gerrit Cole at home, assuming he makes the Yankees opening day start, but they’ll probably get him in Yankees stadium.