Phillies at Padres
Jay Bruce appears to be a perfect fit for the Philadelphia Phillies, who learned on Tuesday that Andrew McCutchen will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The Phillies conclude their three-game series against the host San Diego Padres on Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after Bruce tied a career high with six RBIs in a 9-6 victory.
Acquired from Seattle on Sunday, Bruce hit a grand slam and a two-run homer in Tuesday’s triumph as the Phillies snapped their five-game losing streak. Bruce figures to receive regular playing time in place of McCutchen, who was leading the National League in walks (43) while collecting 10 homers and 29 RBIs before suffering the injury in Monday’s series opener. “This is something every club goes through,” Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler told reporters. “Every club goes through tough times. They go through tough stretches. They have injury concerns. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We just have to come back fighting and prepare like we always do.” San Diego has lost six of its last nine games despite the play of Franmil Reyes, who has belted 19 homers after going deep twice on Tuesday.
TV: 3:40 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, FS San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Jake Arrieta (5-5, 3.96 ERA) vs. Padres RH Cal Quantrill (1-2, 5.14)
Arrieta closed the month of May on a down note, surrendering five runs and 10 hits over five innings in Friday’s 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I had a chance to pitch around some situations, just didn’t do a very good job,” Arrieta told reporters. “Just wasn’t very sharp and they were able to eliminate too many pitches.” Hunter Renfroe is 0-for-6 with four strikeouts against the 2015 NL Cy Young Award-winning Arrieta, who is 2-2 with a 4.60 ERA in six career starts versus San Diego.
Quantrill will be recalled from Triple-A El Paso to make a spot start as the Padres look to give Joey Lucchesi an extra day of rest. A first-round draft pick by San Diego in 2016, the 24-year-old made one start for the Chihuahuas after being optioned on May 26, pitching 5 2/3 innings in a 4-0 loss to Tacoma on Thursday. Quantrill has posted a 19-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in four major-league starts covering 21 frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Phillies INF Scott Kingery is 7-for-20 with a home run and three RBIs over his last five games.
2. San Diego OF Wil Myers went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Tuesday and has fanned 16 times in his last 11 contests.
3. The Phillies purchased the contract of OF Adam Haseley from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.