Coming off a solid showing on the road this past weekend in Los Angeles, the Phillies open a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday night with the San Diego Padres.
The Phillies won three-of-four against the Dodgers, dropping Sunday's finale in walk-off fashion, 5-4. A victory would have given the Phillies just their second four-game road sweep of the Dodgers in franchise history.
The trip west appears to have electrified the Phillies' offense. The club hit 14 dingers over seven games and scored 50 runs. The team has the best OPS (.750) in baseball and ranks second in batting average (.256), fourth in homers (44), and fifth in runs scored (172).
Bryce Harper has played a significant role in the resurgence of the bats. He hit .609 last week and was named National League Player of the Week. He leads the Majors with 24 extra-base hits and has posted 1.6 WAR, the 12th best mark offensively in baseball.
The Phillies enter play on Tuesday 5 1/2 games behind the Mets for the top spot in the NL East.
About San Diego
At 22-13, the Padres sit tied for the second-most wins in the National League. The club is a 1/2 game behind the Dodgers in the NL West.
The Padres took two-of-three from Atlanta over the weekend.
Manager Bob Melvin is recovering from successful prostate surgery, so Ryan Christensen is filling in as interim.
The club recently added 39-year-old veteran Robinson Cano as a free-agent. He made his debut on Sunday and went 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
Manny Machado leads the offense, hitting .359 with seven homers and 23 RBIs. Eric Hosmer has chipped in with 24 RBIs while hitting .350.
Fernando Tatis Jr. is on the IL. He underwent wrist surgery in March and will likely return in mid-June.
Pitching Matchups
Tuesday: RHP Mike Clevenger (0-0, 5.00) vs. TBA
Wednesday: LHP Blake Snell (0-0. 0.50) vs. RHP Zach Wheeler (1-3, 4.26)
Thursday: RHP Yu Darvish (3-1, 4.62) vs. RHP Kyle Gibson (3-1, 4.10)
Tuesday's Lineup
Hoskins 3
Bohm 5
Schwarber 7
Castellanos DH
Segura 4
Herrera 9
Realmuto 2
Stott 6
Quinn 8
Eflin RHP
