Padres at Phillies
The feel-good vibes surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies' offense on Wednesday were nowhere to be found through the first eight innings the following night before a six-run ninth sent the Citizens Bank Park faithful into a frenzy. The Phillies aim to ride the momentum of Bryce Harper's walk-off grand slam into Friday's opener of a three-game series against the visiting San Diego Padres.
Harper answered J.T. Realmuto's grand slam in Philadelphia's 11-1 romp over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday with one of his own just over 24 hours later, sending a towering blast into the night for a 7-5 win. The 2015 National League Most Valuable Player's third homer in two days capped a three-game sweep and moved the Phillies within one game of the Cubs for the second wild card in the NL. Philadelphia will need to keep tabs on Eric Hosmer, who went deep in San Diego's 7-2 win over Tampa Bay on Wednesday and carries a four-game hitting streak (8-for-16, three RBIs, three runs scored) into the opener of its six-game road trip. "We still believe this team has a chance at the postseason," the 29-year-old Hosmer told reporters. "Now we're going up against teams where it matters and that kind of gets us all fired up."
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS San Diego, NBC 10 (Philadelphia)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres RH Chris Paddack (7-5, 3.26 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Vince Velasquez (4-7, 4.30)
Paddack received his second straight no-decision on Saturday after allowing three runs on five hits over six innings against Colorado. The 23-year-old has surrendered six homers in his last five starts overall and was taken deep twice on June 4 as part of a six-run, eight-hit effort in a 9-6 setback versus Philadelphia. Scott Kingery had a homer and added a double to join Harper with a pair of hits against Paddack in that contest.
Velasquez has overcome a rocky start in his return to the rotation by posting a 2-2 mark in a four-outing stretch in which he allowed seven runs on 17 hits across 22 2/3 innings. The 27-year-old continues to struggle with the home-run ball, however, as he was taken deep twice in a 3-1 setback at San Francisco on Saturday to raise his total to 10 in his last eight trips to the mound. Velasquez has stymied San Diego in three career appearances (two starts), posting a 2-0 mark with a 0.00 ERA after scattering five hits over 17 1/3 scoreless innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Diego 3B Manny Machado is 3-for-35 with 10 strikeouts in his last nine games.
2. Philadelphia addressed its injury-riddled bullpen on Thursday by claiming RHP Jared Hughes off waivers from Cincinnati.
3. The availability of Padres rookie SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (back) is in question for the series opener, with multiple reports noting that a trip to the injured list is in his future.