Philadelphia Phillies starting pitching shined in series win against Reds

Phillies starting pitching shined in the series win against the Reds.

The Philadelphia Phillies took two out of three games from the Cincinnati Reds this week — securing another series win against a struggling team. The offense finally woke up after a lackluster series in New York, putting up runs on Monday and Tuesday night. However, the offense once again sputtered on Wednesday — shut out for the fourth time in the last seven games.

The series had its ups and downs, but one aspect of the club that stood out was starting pitching. On Monday, Noah Syndergaard notched a quality start while going seven innings — giving up 3 runs and striking out six. Syndergaard looked confident and showed good command and movement.

The following night, Kyle Gibson pitched well and struck out 11 Reds in six innings. He surrendered two home runs, but kept his team in the game, while the Phils’ offense went off and hit 4 home runs of their own. The right-hander’s 11 strikeouts tied his career-high.

The Phillies turned to Ranger Suarez for the sweep in Wednesday’s series finale matinee. The left-hander pitched as well as anyone could have hoped. However, the Phillies were not able to win. Suarez surrendered just three hits in seven innings of work — while striking out eight. Unfortunately, for Suarez and the team overall, the offense failed to score a single run in the 1-0 loss.

Getting quality starts from starters other than Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler is crucial if the Phillies want to make a postseason push. Suarez has been especially impressive — giving up just four combined earned runs over his last six starts (1.02 ERA). The Phillies need their starting pitchers to continue having success in the final weeks of the season.

Next, the Phillies will once again take on the division-leading New York Mets for a four-game series in Philadelphia starting on Friday. The Mets have a strong offense, rotation, and bullpen, so it will take more than just strong starting pitching for the Phillies to succeed.

Interim manager Rob Thomson’s offense needs to wake up, and Kyle Schwarber’s hopeful return should help. If the Phillies can get contributions from their offense and the pitching remains as successful as it has been, they will put up a fight against their rivals this weekend.