Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 5, 2023 ) Philadelphia 8, Tampa Bay 4
The Philadelphia Phillies have become road warriors, and right now they are winning in a place normally tough on opponents.
After rallying past the Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 on Wednesday night, the Phillies will try for a three-game series sweep on Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Phillies have won 11 straight road games, and they have extended the Rays' losing streak to a season-high four games.
"A lot of good at-bats by them," Rays manager Kevin Cash said after his team's Wednesday loss. "For us, on the mound, it felt like we couldn't create that swing-and-miss like we generally do."
The Rays have been the most dominant team in the American League, but they have leveled off of late, dropping six of their last 10. They still own the majors' best home mark, 34-12.
While the wins haven't been there of late, Cash said of his players, "They've stayed consistent. They come in and prepare the same exact way. You're not going to go out there and win 23 of 25 games. This is tough. We're in a tough league. We're in a tough division. We're playing some tough teams right now."
In the Thursday series finale, the Rays will go with right-hander Shawn Armstrong (0-0, 1.15 ERA) as an opener. He is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in four career appearances vs. Philadelphia, all in relief.
The Phillies will start left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (0-2, 3.26). In his latest start, a 2-1 home loss to the Washington Nationals on Friday, the 26-year-old gave up two runs, one earned, in six innings. He will oppose the Rays for the first time in his career.
Patching the rotation together is a challenge for the Rays right now. On Wednesday, Zack Littell was used as an opener.
Before the game, Tampa Bay recalled right-hander Luis Patino from Triple-A Durham and optioned left-hander Jalen Beeks. Patino threw two innings on Wednesday, making his availability doubtful for Thursday.
The Phillies have received strong starting pitching in the first two games of the series. Aaron Nola struck out 12 in 7 1/3 innings during the series opener on Tuesday, and Taijuan Walker fanned eight in seven innings on Wednesday.
Philadelphia is in the midst of a challenging road trip. After completing the series against the American League-leading Rays, the Phillies travel to Miami to face the Marlins, who own the second-best record in the National League.
Following a slow start to the season, the Phillies are in a solid spot to make a second-half push.
Bryson Stott, who collected four of the Phillies' 17 hits on Wednesday, said to MLB.com of the team's offense, "Right now, it's as deep as it's been. I just think everybody is finding their groove."
A year ago, the Phillies showed what can happen once a team gets into the playoffs.
Despite winning only 87 regular-season games in 2022, the Phillies got hot at the right time and reached the World Series, where they lost in six games to the Houston Astros.
"We're going to keep grinding," Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber said recently, according to MLB.com. "We're going to keep trying to play our brand of baseball and pile up wins at the end of the night and put ourselves in a good position to win."
--Field Level Media