Elephant Rumblings: Phillies Up Next For the Athletics

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Welcome to Tuesday everyone!

The A’s had their off day yesterday and now it’s time to get ready for game action to resume. The team is on the road and on the East Coast yet again, their third trip to the other side of the country already. Not a fun travel schedule to open the year but on the bright side they’re getting these longer trips out of the way early.

We’re in Philadelphia tonight to take on the Phillies in the first of three. The high-priced Phillies, whose $282 million payroll ranks fifth in all of baseball, came into this year with sky-high expectations after winning the NL East. They unfortunately ran into the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round and got knocked out in four games, but they brought back essentially the same team that won 96 games.

Things have not gone their way this season however. They’re sitting in fourth place in their division entering this series at just 14-20, behind the Nationals ($92 million, 26th) and Marlins ($77 million, 30th). They are 10 1/2 games back of the division-leading Atlanta Braves, and a lot of that has to do with under performance on both sides of the ball.

The Philly offense ranks just 17th in home runs, but more worryingly for them they are near the bottom in batting average (28th), on-base percentage (also 28th), slugging (26th), and total runs scored (27th). They’ve gotten solid production out of players like Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh, but the rest of their starting lineup all have an OPS below .700, which should cause panic for Philly fans.

As for their pitching, the team ranks second in all of baseball in strikeouts, but also is just 26th in team ERA. Their pitching staff has given up the most hits in the sport and are tied for fourth in total runs allowed. They’ve certainly missed Zack Wheeler (who only just returned from injury) and Ranger Suarez (FA departure), but veterans Aaron Nola (6.03 ERA), Jesus Luzardo (5.09 ERA), and Taijuan Walker (9.13 ERA) have crippled the Phillies’ starting rotation with poor performances, and top prospect Andrew Painter (5.28 ERA) hasn’t been any better. Meanwhile their bullpen has been middle-of-the-pack as they’ve certainly missed flamethrowing closer Jhoan Duran, who has been on the IL for the past month but is nearing a return, though he’ll likely be activated after the A’s leave town.

Tonight’s series-opening matchup will see right-hander Luis Severino get the ball for the home team. His season to date has certainly seen its peaks and valleys. He has a 4.46 ERA but generally pitches better away from Sacramento. He’s coming off a pair of very strong outings and looks to be on a role entering tonight. He’ll be opposed by Philly ace Cristopher Sanchez, who has kept the Philadelphia rotation afloat with a great 2.90 ERA through his first seven starts.

Wednesday evening’s game will feature left-hander Jeffrey Springs on the mound for the Athletics. The veteran started the year out strong pitching to a 1.46 ERA through his first four starts but he’s been more vulnerable in his past three outings. He actually departed his most recent start with hip tightness but it seems he’s dodged any sort of injury and looks primed for a bounce back against the Phillies, whom he doesn’t have much experience pitching against. He’ll be opposed by Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia’s true ace when healthy. This’ll be his third game since returning from injury and so far he’s looked like he hasn’t skipped a beat. He went five innings of 2-run ball against Atlanta in his first start back, then followed that up with one run allowed over six innings against the Marlins. This could be a tough matchup for the offense if he really is back to his normal self.

And finally the series wraps up on Thursday night with a pitching matchup pitting young right-hander J.T. Ginn against fellow young arm Andrew Painter. Ginn had his first truly bad outing last time out when he allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings of work against the Guardians, though before that he’d been on a roll so he’ll be looking to bounce back and get back on the right path. Painter on the other hand has given up 11 runs over his previous three starts so the A’s may be getting him at the right time when he’s not quite on his game and still figuring things out. This is, after all, his first big league action of his career.

The A’s sit with a two-game lead in the division entering tonight. It’d be great to extend it with a win over an under performing Phillies squad. We’ll be without one of our biggest bats while in Philly as Shea Langeliers gets some time off to be with his wife and newborn son. Hopefully backup Austin Wynns is ready to take advantage of this opportunity. The A’s made a late night move yesterday evening to give Wynns his backup, trading for Jonah Heim from the Atlanta Braves: