The Phillies will wrap up the first half of the regular season with a weekend series against the Oakland Athletics beginning on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the Dodgers on Thursday, increasing their lead in the NL East to 9 1/2 games over the Atlanta Braves who have dropped two straight.
Where: Citizens Bank Park, Tuesday through Thursday.
Pitching matchups and start times: LHP Ranger Suarez (10-3, 2.58) vs. LHP Higan Harris (1-3, 3.22) on Friday, RHP Tyler Phillips (0-0, 2.25) vs. RHP Mitch Spence (5-5, 4.29) on Saturday, and TBD vs. RHP Joey Estes (3-4, 5.53) on Sunday.
Series: The two teams have not met yet this season. Overall, the Phillies lead the series 13-11.
Athletics Update (35-60): The Athletics come to Philly having dropped two of three in Boston while carrying the second-worst road record in baseball (13-35). The club will be sellers at the trade deadline and the Phillies, according to sources, have an eye on reliever Mason Miller. Miller was named to the All-Star Game and sports a 2.33 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 68 strikeouts and 15 saves in 38.2 innings this year. He has been one of the few bright spots for a struggling organization and is just 25 years old in his second season in the league.
Phillies Update (61-32): The Phillies announced the release of Whit Merrifield on Friday afternoon. Merrifield, 35, appeared in 53 games for the Phillies, making 20 starts in left field, 12 at second base and eight at third base. He slashed .199/.277/.295 with four doubles, one triple, three home runs, 11 RBI, 15 walks and 21 runs scored across 174 plate appearances. The Phillies signed the veteran to an $8 million deal this past offseason.