The Philadelphia Phillies are going to win the NL East for the first time since 2011, but they still have plenty of motivation the rest of the regular season with the chance to earn home-field advantage throughout the World Series.
The Phils have no right losing Thursday as a heavy favorite on the MLB odds in a series opener at a bad Miami team.
| Opening MLB Lines Subject to Change: Phillies -210, Marlins +168 (total 8) Expert Prediction: Phillies 6, Marlins 4 |
Philadelphia Phillies -210
In Tuesday’s win in Toronto, Kyle Schwarber hit three homers and surpassed his own franchise record with his 12th leadoff home run of the season (had 11 in 2023). In Wednesday’s series finale, Schwarber went yard again in the top of the first and tied Alfonso Soriano’s major-league record of 13 leadoff home runs in 2003.
The Phils are 26-5 all-time in the regular season when Schwarber leads off the game with a homer (.833 win %). His 31 leadoff home runs with the Phillies rank 2nd in franchise history, trailing only Jimmy Rollins (46). Schwarber is the first player in Phils history with 30+ homers in the first three seasons with the club. In MLB history, Schwarber is one of only nine players to hit 120+ home runs in their first three seasons with a club.
Alec Bohm
Will All-Star third baseman be in the lineup Thursday? While the Phillies are still expecting Bohm to avoid a stint on the injured list, he missed out on a fifth straight start Wednesday in Toronto while he continues to deal with swelling on his left hand. Bohm suffered a left-hand strain on an awkward swing in the first inning of last Thursday’s series opener against the Braves. Bohm is batting .290/.343/.462 on the season, with a major-league-leading 44 doubles. He’s hit 13 homers and leads the Phillies with 89 RBI.
“It’s getting better, but it’s not getting better as quickly as we’d thought,” Bohm said. “We just want to make sure we knock this thing out because I’m always afraid with foot injuries, hand injuries, it affects people’s swings, and then you get into bad habits and lose some confidence. We’ll just keep monitoring it day to day. I would think probably it’s going to be Miami. It’s not going to be an IL.”
Ranger Suarez
It’s lefty on the mound Thursday. Suarez (11-6) allowed four runs on five hits and a walk over four innings last Friday, striking out six and taking a loss against Atlanta. Suarez threw two scoreless frames before the Braves scored two runs in each of the third and fourth innings. He served up back-to-back homers to Orlando Arcia and Sean Murphy in the third. Suarez had no feel for either his curveball or change up, and couldn’t put away many right-handed hitters without them. The Braves had 23 foul balls on just 42 swings as they wore Suarez down in seemingly every at-bat.
“There were pitches I left in the middle of the zone,” Suarez said. “I made a couple of mistakes and that changed the whole outing. I felt really good these past couple of starts. So, I think that’s building towards the finish that I want and also what the team wants for me. Just keep working.”
It was just the second time this year that Suarez gave up multiple home runs in an outing, and he’s allowed just 11 through 128.1 innings this season. Suarez has a 6.25 ERA while going 1-5 over his last seven outings, raising his season ERA to 3.02. He is still searching for command and stamina because he missed a month with a sore back.
Suarez is 5-2 with a 3.47 ERA in 70.0 career innings vs. the Marlins, and 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA in two starts this year. He last faced them on June 30 in Philadelphia and took a no-decision, allowing six runs and 10 hits over 4.2 innings.
^Miami Marlins +168
The Marlins are going to finish last in the NL East and already are eliminated from playoff contention. They probably will make a managerial change in the off season, although what happened in 2024 is hardly Skip Schumaker’s spot. He’ll get another job without much trouble. The Marlins have been gutted by injuries to their pitching staff, and also have traded away several every-day regulars this year.
Xavier Edwards
Miami did get a good-looking shortstop and leadoff hitter back from the IL on Tuesday, a bit earlier than expected. He missed the minimum time after a back injury suffered Aug. 23. Edwards was 0-for-5 with two Ks in his return, but is the team’s leading hitter at .339 and has stolen 22 bases (both as of Wednesday).
Jesus Sanchez
Outfielder left Tuesday’s game with a mild back muscle spasm and wasn’t in Wednesday’s lineup. Sanchez injured himself while stealing second base during the second inning of the Marlins’ opener against the Nationals. He slid headfirst into the bag, where he was slow to get up, and a member of the training staff and manager Skip Schumaker checked on him before he exited. Sanchez is hitting .243 with 17 homers and 57 RBIs.
Adam Oller
It’s journeyman on the mound Thursday. Oller (1-1) allowed two hits and two walks while striking out eight over six scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Giants last Friday. It was the first time this season that a Marlins pitcher had struck out eight or more batters in a scoreless start of at least six innings. Miami had 10 such starts in 2023, with Jesús Luzardo being the most recent to do so last Sept. 17.
Oller threw 53 of 90 pitches for strikes to earn his first quality start since Aug. 27, 2022. His strong effort went to waste when Mike Baumann allowed three runs in the eighth inning, denying Oller his second win of the year. Oller is at a 3.31 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 16:8 K:BB over 16.1 big-league innings. Prior to joining the Marlins on a minor-league deal on July 10, Oller’s only MLB experience had come with the A’s from 2022-23, and he was terrible.
“He can really spin the ball,” Schumaker said after Oller’s last start. “His fastball command was probably the reason the breaking ball was so effective … but the breaking stuff was outstanding. I thought the changeup was really good as well. Overall, just a really well-executed pitch plan and gave us a really good chance to win.”
¡Olé Oller! 👏 👏 pic.twitter.com/x9me2IE4Y1
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 25, 2024
Oller hasn’t faced Philadelphia in his career.
^Phillies at Marlins Info
When: Thursday, 6:40 PM ET
Where: loan Depot Park
Pitchers (away/home): Ranger Suarez/Adam Oller
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/game day audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
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