Categories: Gameday

Phillies host Cubs to begin six-game homestand

Jason Vargas gets the nod in the Phillies series opener against the Cubs (Destiny Lugardo/PN)

Following a 2-5 trip out West, the Philadelphia Phillies (60-58) return home on Tuesday night to begin a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs (64-54). The Cubs have won seven of their last 11 games heading into the series while the Phils have won four of their past 11.

Chicago currently leads the NL Central by two games over the Cardinals. The Phillies, meanwhile, sit in fourth place in the NL East, nine games behind the first place Braves. They are two games back of a Wild Card spot, trailing the Mets (1.0 GB) the Brewers (1.5 GB), who are both ahead of the Phils in the standings.

A big change was made to the Phillies’ coaching staff on Tuesday morning, with the team dismissing hitting coach John Mallee. They are replacing him for the remainder of the season with the franchise’s winningest manager, Charlie Manuel. Philadelphia has had a lot of holes this season, but their offense has been underwhelming and inconsistent to say the least.

During the offseason, the Phils signed Bryce Harper and traded for both Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto. Every hitter in the lineup, aside from Scott Kingery, has regressed this season. We’ll see if Charlie Manuel will be able to turn things around as the Phils continue to try and stay in postseason contention.

Things don’t get much easier for the Phillies with the Cubs sporting Major League Baseball’s fifth best team ERA (4.05) and they’ve given up the eighth fewest home runs (150). That being said, Chicago’s road ERA is 4.80.

Here’s how the teams will lineup tonight:

Phillies Lineup

Bryce Harper (RF)
Rhys Hoskins (1B)
J.T. Realmuto (C)
Jean Segura (SS)
Scott Kingery (3B)
Corey Dickerson (LF)
Cesar Hernandez (2B)
Roman Quinn (CF)
Jason Vargas (P)

Cubs Lineup

Jason Heyward (LF)
Nicholas Castellanos (RF)
Kris Bryant (3B)
Anthony Rizzo (1B)
Javier Baez (SS)
Jonathan Lucroy (C)
Albert Almora Jr (CF)
Ian Happ (2B)
Jose Quintana (P)

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Matchup

Jason Vargas (6-6, 4.09 ERA) vs. Jose Quintana (10-7, 4.23 ERA)
Vargas faced the Cubs once this season during his time with the Mets on June 21. He gave up two earned runs in 4.2 innings of work in a 5-4 Mets win. Cubs outfielder Nick Castellanos has two homers in 22 at-bats against Vargas. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are a combined 2-for-14 with four strikeouts. Vargas is 3-0 with a 3.95 ERA in seven career starts against the Cubs.
Quintana started against the Phillies on May 2 as part of a 3-2 Cubs win. The 30-year-old left-hander tossed six scoreless innings, scattering just two hits while striking out four. In five career starts against the Phils, Quintana has a 3.77 ERA. In three career starts at Citizens Bank Park, he’s 0-1 with a 5.29 ERA.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

Since the All-Star Break, the Phils rank 26th in runs scored, 27th in batting average, 26th in slugging percentage, 25th in on-base percentage and 26th in extra-base hits.
The Cubs are 23-35 on the road this season and have not won a road series in 11 attempts. Their ERA on the road this season is 4.80.
The Phillies won their opener on the road against Arizona, but lost five of their next six. In that span, they were outscored 37-21.
Major League Baseball released their 2020 schedule on Monday. The Phillies open their season on March 26, 2020 against the Marlins. Their home opener against the Brewers is set for April 2.
Phillies public address announcer Dan Baker will miss an undetermined number of games due to a lingering sinus infection, per Baker’s Twitter.

Programming Information