After a hot start to the season, including an impressive showing against the defending World Champion Dodgers, things have begun to slide a bit for the Phillies. The club is coming off a rough 2-4 road trip through Atlanta and St. Louis and settled for a split with the Giants after Thursday’s series finale at Citizens Bank Park. Now comes a weekend series with the struggling Marlins, who arrive in South Philly after being swept at home by the Diamondbacks. Miami’s pitching staff has been a mess—its 4.61 ERA and 1.41 WHIP both rank as the fourth worst in the majors.
With a tough six-game road trip looming—stops in New York to face the Mets and in Chicago to take on the Cubs—this is a key opportunity for the Phillies to regroup and reset.
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Phillies Record: 11-8, 1 GB
Marlins Record: 8-10, 3 GB
It’s still early. But that excuse is aging fast. The Phillies are getting nothing from center field. Their -0.8 WAR at the position is the worst in the National League. Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas have yet to make any meaningful impact offensively, and it’s dragging the lineup down. Widen the lens, and the picture gets uglier: the entire outfield has combined for a -1.0 WAR, third worst in the NL—better only than Pittsburgh and Atlanta.
If not for a sturdy rotation holding things together, the Phillies wouldn’t be sitting at 11-8. Not even close.
A. Nick Castellanos has been one of the few bright spots in a lineup that’s stumbled through the past week, hitting .360 over his last seven games. But that momentum hit a snag Thursday when he exited in the seventh inning of the series finale against the Giants with a left hip flexor issue.
The Phillies say he’ll undergo further evaluation, but the possibility of an IL stint looms—and it couldn’t come at a worse time. With the rest of the outfield offering minimal production, losing Castellanos for any stretch would be a significant blow.
B. Zack Wheeler’s last two starts have been unusually ordinary—two outings, nine earned runs, and 15 hits. For a pitcher of his caliber, that qualifies as a slump. But if there’s a team that lines up well for a rebound, it’s Miami.
Wheeler owns the Marlins. He’s 11-4 with a 2.73 ERA in 25 career starts against them. The stage is set for a bounce-back. Now it’s just a matter of execution.
C. Taijuan Walker gets the ball Saturday, looking to rebound from a shaky outing his last time out—five innings, four earned runs (six total) against the Giants. He was solid in his first two starts, so the hope is this isn’t a sign of regression back to his 2024 form. Saturday could be telling.
Friday: RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-0, 4.70) vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (1-1. 4.07)
Saturday: RHP Cal Quantrill (1-1, 5.79) vs. RHP Taijuan Walker (1-1, 2.30)
Sunday: RHP Connor Gillispie (0-2, 6.53) vs. LHP Jesus Luzardo (2-0, 2.31)
J.T. Realmuto had a down year at the plate in 2024, and so far, 2025 hasn’t offered much encouragement. Through 16 games, he’s hitting just .214 with an OPS+ of 82. Sure, he’s still in the conversation as one of the better catchers in baseball—but at 34 years old and in the final season of his five-year deal, you have to wonder: is the decline picking up speed?This is exactly the kind of series the Phillies need right now. After a rough week, they’ve got a chance to reset against a struggling Marlins club. Both Zack Wheeler and Taijuan Walker are looking for bounce-back starts, and Jesús Luzardo facing his former team adds some intrigue to Sunday’s finale. More than anything, though, the Phillies need the bats to wake up—and with Miami’s rotation thinned out, there’s a real shot to put up some crooked numbers.A sweep would be ideal—but with Sandy Alcantara on the mound, that’s never a guarantee. Still, taking two out of three should be the expectation. Anything less, especially with a tough road trip to New York and Chicago on deck, would be cause for concern.
