Philadelphia is the hottest team in the National League at the moment, winners of 5 in a row and 8 of their last 9 under interim skipper Don Mattingly, who's gone 16-4 since taking over for Rob Thomson. They walked off the Reds on Monday when Bryson Stott took Cincinnati deep in the 8th and Jhoan Duran slammed the door. Now they want the series.
The roadblock: Chase Burns. The Reds' rookie has been the one thing keeping their rotation upright with Hunter Greene and Rhett Lowder on the shelf, and he's coming off a 7-inning, 7-strikeout gem against the Pirates where the only thing he didn't get was the win. A 1.87 ERA against a Phillies lineup that may or may not have Kyle Schwarber in it (he was out Monday, day-to-day) is the matchup to watch.
- Day-To-DayConnor Burns C — no
- Day-To-DayJosh Staumont RP — The Twins reinstated Staumont (calf) from the 15-day injured list Friday and optioned him to Triple-A St. Paul, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
- 10-Day-ILEugenio Suarez 3B — Suarez (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment Wednesday, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.
- 10-Day-ILJose Trevino C — Trevino is expected to miss 3-to-4 weeks after being diagnosed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.
- 15-Day-ILRhett Lowder SP — Reds manager Terry Francona said that Lowder (shoulder) will resume throwing Thursday, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.
- 15-Day-ILCaleb Ferguson RP — Ferguson (oblique) walked one over a scoreless inning for Triple-A Louisville on Friday.
- 15-Day-ILEmilio Pagan RP — Pagan said Wednesday that he's been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and is expected to be sidelined 4-to-8 weeks, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
- 60-Day-ILHunter Greene SP — Greene (elbow) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session May 26, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.
- Day-To-DayKyle Schwarber DH — Schwarber is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Reds.
- 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-ILKyle Backhus RP — Backhus (elbow) played catch Wednesday, MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILZach Pop RP — Pop (calf) began a rehab assignment Saturday, throwing a clean inning for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
On the other side, Jesús Luzardo is the guy Philly fans have been chewing their nails over all year. His April was a 7.94-ERA dumpster fire, but he just put up 6 scoreless against the Red Sox at Fenway on May 14 with 4 punchouts. The stuff is there. Whether he can string two of those together in a row is the entire question.
The market sees the pitching gap clearly. Pinnacle has the Phillies at -134 on the moneyline and the total parked at 8.5, while DraftKings is sitting on a 10-run total that nobody on the sharp side seems interested in. EV is negative across the board, which is the books' way of saying don't get cute here.
Bottom line: Phillies are rolling, but they're walking into a buzzsaw of their own in Burns. If Luzardo gives Mattingly 6 useful innings, Philly's bullpen and home crowd do the rest. If he doesn't, the Reds steal one and snap a 3-game skid of their own.