Phillies look to ride momentum into Toronto for a 2-game series against the Blue Jays

The Phillies are rolling into Toronto tonight, looking to ride the momentum wave after taking 3-of-4 games from the Atlanta Braves over the weekend at Citizens Bank Park.

I think it’s safe to say the vibes in the Phillies clubhouse have been restored…for now.

They hold a seven-game lead at the top of the NL East over the Braves and are sitting pretty for Red October, with the second seed (first round bye) in the National League, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers by 1.5 games.

Philadelphia Phillies Remaining Schedule:

• Philadelphia Phillies at Toronto Blue Jays (2 Games) 
• Philadelphia Phillies at Miami Marlins (3 Games) 
• Tampa Bay Rays at Philadelphia Phillies (3 Games) 
• New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies (3 Games) 
• Philadelphia Phillies at Milwaukee Brewers (3 Games) 
• Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets (3 Games)
• Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies (3 Games) 
• Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals (3 Games) 

Pitching Matchup: Tyler Phillips vs Chris Bassitt

Tyler Phillips is getting the ball for the Phillies tonight. The young righty has had an up-and-down season, with a 4-1 record and a 5.50 ERA in seven career starts.

Early on, it looked like Phillips was the real deal after he threw a complete-game shutout against the Guardians back in July. Since then? Well, let’s just say the league might have figured him out a bit. Over his last three starts, he’s been roughed up, giving up 17 runs on 20 hits in just 11 innings.

The Blue Jays are sending Chris Bassitt to the mound. Bassitt’s season has been inconsistent—sometimes great, other times disappointing. He’s had strong outings against the Red Sox and Orioles, but also struggled against teams like the A’s and Angels.

Which Bassitt shows up tonight? Your guess is as good as mine. He’s got a 4.30 expected ERA and is giving up a .253 expected batting average, so the Phillies might have a chance to do some damage, assuming they can find some consistency at the plate.

Phillies Offense Needs to Find Consistency

The Phillies have had a reliable offense this year, ranking 6th in the Majors with a .746 OPS. Four regular players—Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Trea Turner—have OPS numbers over .800.

As always consistency is key for the Philadelphia Phillies and the top of the lineup has been everything but that over the last month.

Schwarber leads the team with 28 homers but hasn’t been himself for the better part of a month. Over the last 30 games, he’s hitting just .217 with six home runs and 19 RBI. Those numbers dip to a horrific .074 with two hits 12 strikeouts and a run scored over his last seven games.

Trea Turner’s last 30 games havent been great. The Phillies’ shortstop has hit just .238 with two home runs and seven RBI but it appears Turner is through the worst of it. Over his last seven games, he’s hit a more respectable .269 with a homer and 2 RBI. 

As for Bryce Harper, he’s definitely been contributing and getting on base, but his power numbers have plummeted as he continues to deal with nagging wrist and elbow issues.
Harper has hit just two home runs over his last 118 at-bats (30 Games) while batting .290 with 9 RBI. 

Players to Watch: Nick Castellanos and JT Realmuto

Nick Castellanos has been the Phillies best hitter since really, June 1st. On the season, Casty is hitting .249 with 130 hits, 19 home runs, 76 RBIs and 65 runs scored but that really doesn’t show you what he’s done over the past three months where he’s hit 16 homers to go along with 14 RBI and a .275 batting average.

Nick Castellanos Month by Month: 

• April (28 Games): .183 BA, 19 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI 
• May (27 Games): .229 BA, 24 H, 5 HR, 15 RBI 
• June (26 Games): .276 BA, 29 H, 4 HR, 18 RBI
• July (24 Games): .275, 25 H, 4 HR, 15 RBI
• August (28 Games): .275, 26 H, 4 HR, 16 RBI

WATCH: Nick Castellanos walk-off in the 11th with just the noise of September baseball at Citizens Bank Park >>

Keep your eyes on JT Realmuto tonight. The Best Catcher in Baseball is playing up to his name after a strong August month where he hit .274 with 23 hits, 4 homers, 17 RBIs and 11 runs scored in 23 games last month.

Realmuto has three home runs and a .942 OPS over the last two weeks. If he and Castellanos keep swinging a hot bats, they could be the difference-makers as the Phillies look to finish strong and end the remainder of the regular season on a high-note.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr enters September on FIRE

Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr is once again proving himself as one of the top hitters in baseball. He enters tonight with a .324 batting average, a .952 OPS, 27 home runs, and 89 RBI after a strong month of August. Vladdy is hitting .452 with a 1.192 OPS, four doubles, a home run, and six RBI in his last eight games, including six multi-hit games.

Notes: Toronto Blue Jays

• The Blue Jays rank 18th in runs scored with 587, 4.2 per game.
• Toronto is 24th in baseball with 141 home runs. They average one per game.
• The Blue Jays are 16th in the majors with a .241 batting average.
• Toronto strikes out 7.5 times per game, the sixth-fewest average in MLB.
• The pitching staff for the Blue Jays has a collective 8.4 K/9, which ranks 20th in MLB.
• Toronto has the 25th-ranked team ERA among all MLB pitching staffs (4.34).

Notes: Philadelphia Phillies

• The Phillies have scored the eighth-most runs in the league this season with 659.
• Philadelphia ranks 11th in Major League Baseball with 163 home runs.
• The Phillies’ .257 batting average is among the best in baseball, ranking fourth in MLB.
• Philadelphia ranks 12th in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 8.4 Ks per contest.
• The Phillies have an 8.9 K/9 this season as a pitching staff, sixth-best in baseball.
• Philadelphia has the fourth-best ERA (3.67) in the majors this season.

Phillies & Blue Jays Injury Report

• Blue Jays: Bo Bichette: 10 Day IL (Calf), Jordan Romano: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Alek Manoah: 60 Day IL (Elbow)
• Phillies: Spencer Turnbull: 60 Day IL (Back), Luis Ortiz: 60 Day IL (Ankle), Alec Bohm: day-to-day (Hand)

I hate 2-game series, especially with the Toronto Blue Jays

Any time I see two games against the Toronto Blue Jays, I immediately think it’s a split and look ahead to the next series for the Phillies – which would be on the road against the Miami Marlins. Right now, we can’t afford to jump ahead. Tyler Phillips needs to right his ways and guide the Phillies to a win tonight, setting up Cristopher Sanchez to complete the two-game sweep tomorrow.

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