Phillies and Cubs series preview, notes, and pitching matchups

The Phillies are packing a few things for Chicago: gloves, bats, Bryce Harper... and a four-game losing streak.

They'll drag all of it into Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon, hoping to snap out of an early-season funk just in time to face the hottest offense in baseball. So yeah, the timing? Not ideal.

Their latest heartbreak came Wednesday in Queens, when they coughed up two in the 10th and lost, 4-3, to the Mets. That made it four straight losses—and 10 in their last 16—for a team that started the year 7-2 and looking like a National League juggernaut.

But now? They’ve become the riddle team. They entered Thursday in the top 10 in the majors in batting average (.251) and OPS (.721)... and yet they’re hitting .154 with the bases loaded. That’s not a typo. That’s a team that can hit—but only when it doesn’t count the most.

Enter Bryce Harper:

“We just got to win,” Harper said postgame, with that post-walk-off-loss tone every Phillies fan knows too well. “I mean, it takes care of everything. It takes care of the mindset. It takes care of what you’re feeling, or anything else like that. Doesn’t matter if one guy’s struggling or not. We come to win, and winning takes care of it all.”

He’s not wrong.

But if winning “takes care of it all,” then what does losing to the Cubs at Wrigley in April do?

We’re about to find out.

Pitching Matchups

Friday | 2:20pm | RHP Taijuan Walker (1-1, 2.29) vs. RHP Colin Rea (0-0, 1.32)

Saturday | 4:05pm | LHP Jesus Luzardo (2-0, 2.08) vs. RHP Ben Brown (2-1, 4.57)

Sunday | 7:10pm | RHP Aaron Nola (0-5, 6.43) vs. RHP Jameson Taillon (1-1, 4.73)

About the Cubs

The Chicago Cubs had Thursday off. You know who didn’t?

Their offense.

Because even without taking the field, the Cubs were still busy doing what they’ve done all season—lighting up the scoreboard and turning stat historians into Twitter poets.

At 16-10, they wake up Friday sitting three games clear in the National League Central. They also happen to lead the sport in run differential, at a robust +43. Translation: they’re not just winning—they’re bludgeoning.

And just how rarefied is this air? According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com (a.k.a. the oracle of baseball oddities), this is one of the best 26-game starts in Cubs history—offensively speaking:

Most Runs Scored by Cubs in First 26 Games (since 1900):

1929: 179 (Hack Wilson was still warming up)
2025: 163 (yes, this year)
1954: 160

2016: 159 (you know how that one ended)

So yes, the only Cubs teams to outscore these guys after 26 games either featured a guy nicknamed “Jellybean” or ended a 108-year curse.

Oh, and while we’re time traveling, let’s talk Pete Crow-Armstrong—who apparently thinks he's auditioning for Cubs Legends: The Sequel.

Players in Cubs history with 5+ HR & 4+ SB in a 9-game span (last 125 seasons):

2025: Pete Crow-Armstrong (last 9 games)
1993: Sammy Sosa (before the biceps boom)
1990 & 1985: Ryne Sandberg (yes, twice)
1967: Adolfo Phillips
1911: Frank “Wildfire” Schulte (back when gloves had no webbing)

So Pete Crow-Armstrong is doing things only Sammy, Ryno, and Wildfire have done. That’s not a stat. That’s a vibe.

This team is legit. 

Focal Point

Sure, it’s still April. But here’s your friendly reminder: the games now count just as much as the ones in late September — only with fewer goosebumps and more hoodies. And right now? The Phillies don’t look like a contender. They look like a luxury yacht—beautiful, expensive, and spring-training brochure worthy—except someone forgot to patch a few holes. The bullpen’s leaking. The outfield’s sputtering. The clutch gene? Still on backorder. Put it all together and you’ve got a team trying to stay afloat in the NL East while bailing water with their batting gloves. If the Phillies don’t start sealing those cracks soon, this thing’s going under—regardless of the price tag.