The circumstances have changed, but the goal remains the same for the Philadelphia Phillies: Win the World Series for the first time since 2008.
Philadelphia finds itself without closer Jose Alvarado, who was suspended for 80 games by Major League Baseball on Sunday for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, but the Phillies have not stopped winning.
They have won four games in a row, including the series opener against the Colorado Rockies on Monday night in Denver.
The teams will continue their four-game set Tuesday night when Philadelphia sends left-hander Jesus Luzardo (4-0, 2.00 ERA) against Colorado right-hander Antonio Senzatela (1-7, 6.39).
The Phillies didn’t need a closer in Monday night’s 9-3 win over Colorado, but they will at some point. Manager Rob Thomson said he doesn’t want his relievers changing their approach to each game while the team figures out the back end of the bullpen.
“Just do your thing and try not to do more than who you are because I truly believe that we have enough stuff in our ‘pen, we do,” Thomson said of his message to the relievers. “Just don’t try to do too much. Throw strikes, just be yourselves, and we’ll get it done.”
It will help if Thomson can get quality outings from his starters, and that has not been an issue for Luzardo. The 27-year-old left-hander has averaged six innings each time he takes the mound.
Luzardo has faced the Rockies four times — including two starts — and is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA against them. Two of those appearances (one start) came in Denver, where he holds a 12.15 ERA.
He will face a Rockies team that is off to the worst 47-game start in the modern era (since 1901) and is on pace to shatter the record for most losses in a season, 121, set by the Chicago White Sox last year.
Colorado has been competitive despite going 1-6 since interim manager Warren Schaeffer took over on May 11. The Rockies have a pair of one-run losses in the last seven games and came within a hit of winning a series in Arizona over the weekend, and they led 3-1 entering Monday’s seventh inning before the bullpen gave up eight runs.
One adjustment Schaeffer made is to move Jordan Beck to the leadoff spot and drop Brenton Doyle to the middle of the lineup. Beck has hit at the top the last four games and had a breakout performance Saturday night, going 4-for-5 with two home runs.
He had a hustle double in the third inning on Monday and scored Colorado’s second run of the game.
“I opted for more thump at the top with Beck, (Ezequiel Tovar) and Hunter Goodman,” Schaeffer said.
Senzatela will try to earn the fifth victory by a Colorado starter this season in his second outing against the Phillies in 2025. In his start at Philadelphia on April 3, he allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings but gave up 10 hits in a 3-1 loss.
Senzatela is 0-3 with a 3.71 ERA in seven career games — six starts — against the Phillies.
–Field Level Media
