2020 Series Preview: New York Yankees (8-1) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (1-3)

The 2020 season just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

The second game in the Phillies-Yankees series was postponed yet again, this time because of Tropical Storm Isaias. The game will be made up Wednesday, as part of a doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park, meaning fans can watch the Phillies play three games over two days. The Phillies will serve as the away team in the first game. Both games will be seven-innings long.

After the first game of the series, the Phillies showed some promise in beating the Yankees in at least one of the three games in this series. The odds were stacked against them in the series opener. The Phillies, who were idle for more than a week, were up against one of the best pitchers in baseball in Gerrit Cole, who struck out four over five innings in a 6-3 victory in favor of the Yankees Monday.

The Phillies are going to play their two best pitchers — Zack Wheeler followed by Aaron Nola — in the doubleheader. If both can pitch well, maybe even pitch over all seven innings, the Phillies should find themselves on the winning end.

Shibe Vintage Sports Probable Pitchers

• Game 1: RHP Zack Wheeler (PHI) (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 2.71 FIP) vs.  LHP J.A. Happ (NYY) (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 10.05 FIP)
• Game 2:  TBD vs. RHP Aaron Nola (PHI) (0-1, 6.75 ERA, 3.42 FIP)
• Game 3:  TBD vs. RHP Zach Eflin

Wheeler and Nola are expected to make their second start of the season today. Wheeler fared better than Nola in his first start, earning the Phillies’ only win of the season so far. Nola had pitched well throughout the game but lost control during the sixth inning when he allowed Aguilar to hit a two-run home run off of him. He could be looking for some redemption against the hard-hitting Yankees.

Wheeler had a great first showing in his first start with the Phillies. Wheeler pitched seven full innings and only allowed one run while striking out four. Zach Eflin is scheduled to make his first start of the year on Thursday, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Eflin dealt with back spasms during summer camp, which prevented him from making a single appearance in an intrasquad game.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

• Among all MLB clubs to have played the Yankees at least 30 times, the Phillies’ .484 winning percentage is the best.
• The Phillies boast three former New York Yankees on staff: manager Joe Girardi, bench coach Rob Thomson, and coaching assistant Bobby Meacham. The Phillies also have three players on their active who previously played on the Yankees: Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, and Didi Gregorius.
• The Yankees have homered in each of their first nine games of the season for the third time in franchise history.
• Former Phillie J.A. Happ has 1,499 career strikeouts, one strikeout shy of 1,500.
• The Phillies are now scheduled to play 56 games over the next 54 days. The last time the Phillies played 56 games in 54 days was 1968 when they went 25-31 from July 26 – Sept. 16.

Ticket IQ Programming Information

• Game 1: Wednesday at 4:05 on NBC Sports Philadelphia and SportsRadio 94WIP
• Game 2: Wednesday, 35 minutes after the end of Game 1 on NBC Sports Philadelphia and SportsRadio 94WIP
• Game 3: Thursday at 6:05 on NBC Sports Philadelphia and SportsRadio 94WIP

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