Tuesday night at Fenway is a tale of two teams that fired their managers and are still figuring out what they are. The Phillies are 19-22 but 10-3 under interim skipper Don Mattingly, who has steadied a clubhouse that had no business being under water in April. Boston is 17-23, last in the AL East, and going with Jovani Morán as an opener — which tells you plenty about the rotation health.
Wheeler is the headliner here and the reason the Phillies are -132 on the road. He's 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA across his first three starts back, and Philadelphia has won every one of them. His last time out he punched out 8 in 6 innings against Miami, building from 84 pitches in his debut up to 94. He looks like the same guy he was before the IL stint, which is the only news Phillies fans needed.
Boston countering with Morán as an opener is the part to circle. He's been sharp in short bursts — 2.91 ERA, 17 K in 19.1 innings — but the Sox are basically running a bullpen game against the toughest non-Skenes start in the National League. Whoever follows Morán in the bulk role is the actual matchup problem, and Boston's rotation has been gutted: Crochet, Houck, Crawford, Sandoval and Oviedo are all on the shelf.
- Day-To-DayKeaton Anthony 1B — Anthony suffered a fractured toe after fouling a ball off his foot during Monday's Grapefruit League game versus the Red Sox, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
- Day-To-DayRene Pinto C — Pinto (undisclosed) began a rehab assignment Monday, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- Day-To-DayDaniel Robert RP — Robert suffered a cardiac incident Sunday while preparing to throw a bullpen session and was taken to a local hospital, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
- Day-To-DayAndrew Bechtold 3B — Bechtold signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays on Dec. 1.
- Day-To-DayMark Kolozsvary C — Kolozsvary (undisclosed) agreed to a minor-league contract with the Phillies on Friday that includes an invitation to spring training, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILZach Pop RP — Pop (calf) began a rehab assignment Saturday, throwing a clean inning for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
- suspensionJohan Rojas CF — Rojas (shoulder) is starting in center field and batting leadoff in Thursday's Grapefruit League contest against Atlanta, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
- 15-Day-ILKyle Backhus RP — The Phillies placed Backhus on the 15-day injured list Thursday with left elbow inflammation.
- Day-To-DayWillson Contreras 1B — Contreras (hand) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
- Day-To-DayHobie Harris RP — Harris was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILRoman Anthony LF — Anthony (wrist) has yet to resume baseball activities, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILGarrett Crochet SP — Crochet (shoulder) threw off a mound Tuesday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILDanny Coulombe RP — The Red Sox placed Coulombe on the 15-day injured list Monday with cervical spasms.
- 15-Day-ILKutter Crawford SP — Crawford has been diagnosed with inflammation in his right elbow following an MRI, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
- 60-Day-ILTriston Casas 1B — The Red Sox transferred Casas (abdomen/knee) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
- 60-Day-ILRomy Gonzalez 1B — The Red Sox placed Gonzalez (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list Thursday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
The injury column also dings the lineup tonight. Willson Contreras is out with a hand issue, and Roman Anthony (wrist) still hasn't resumed baseball activities. That's a real chunk of the heart of the order missing against the best pitcher they'll see this week. On the Phillies side it's mostly bullpen names — Backhus and Pop on the IL — plus Keaton Anthony day-to-day with a fractured toe.
The market is leaning Phillies and so is the public — 76% handle, 79% of tickets on the Philly moneyline at -143. The total sits at 8 with the over getting most of the action. EV isn't pretty on any side here (Pinnacle is shading everything), but the side with the Cy Young-caliber starter against a patchwork bullpen day, in a half-healthy Boston lineup, is the obvious lean for a reason.
If Wheeler does Wheeler things into the 7th, this is a quick night for Boston. If the Phillies bullpen wobbles the way it has at times this year and the Sox manage to chase the bulk guy early, you've got a Fenway shootout where 8 runs disappears in a hurry. Either way, it's a measuring-stick start for a Phillies team that suddenly looks like it remembered who it was.