Following a tough series in Milwaukee, the Phillies return to Philadelphia to open a four-game set with the Rockies on Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils enter the night 2 1/2 games behind the Braves in the National League East with 23 games remaining in the regular season.
“I think everybody is going to be sitting and biting their fingernails a little bit as we go down the stretch here, but we believe if we take care of business, we’re going to be just fine," said Phillies hurler Kyle Gibson following Wednesday night's 4-3 loss to the Brewers.
Fourteen of the next 17 games are at home for the Phillies before the club embarks on a six-game road trip to finish the season. The next seven contests in particular, four against the Rockies and three against the Cubs, are pivotal for the Phils because the two clubs have a combined .473 winning percentage.
"We need to take advantage of what is in front of us," Bryce Harper said last week. "We need to do it now."
Ranger Suarez will start the series opener for the Phils. He was pulled after five innings in his previous start against the Marlins because he was dealing with what manager Joe Giardi deemed a "dead arm."
"I watched him go out and throw in the fifth-inning warmup and I wasn’t crazy about what I saw. So we just said we’re going to cut it off there," Girardi said.
Suarez has pitched well for the Phillies, tossing to a 1.38 ERA over 72 innings of work, including seven starts. He's been even better at Citizens Bank Park, posting a 1.40 ERA in 18 appearances.
The Rockies counter with righty Antonio Senzatela who is 4-9 on the season with a 4.16 ERA. He's looked solid in his past two starts though, tossing at least seven innings while posting a 3.20 ERA over his last eight outings.
Phillies Lineup
Herrera 8
Segura 4
Harper 9
Miller 3
McCutchen 7
Gregorius 6
Torreyes 5
Marchan 2
Suarez 1
Scoreboard Watch
The Braves play host again tonight the Nationals. Atlanta's offense sputtered last night and mustered just two runs in a loss to the Nats. The Braves enter play with a 2 1/2 game lead over the Phils.
