After a spoiled visit to Great American Ballpark, the Friars look to bounce back against a division-leading opponent. Here's what's to expect from Citizens Bank Park as July rolls in:
The Padres (45-38, 2nd in NL West) dropped a heartbreaker on Sunday, Will Benson provided a walk-off knock to give the Cincinnati Reds a 3-2 victory. Although they left The Queen City with a series loss, San Diego received a strong pitching performance from right-hander Stephen Kolek, who tossed 5 1/3 innings of one-run baseball. On the flip side, the offense still remained anemic, as the Friars' two runs came on a Xander Bogaerts home run and a bases loaded force out off the bat of Jose Iglesias.
The Philadelphia Phillies (49-35, 1st in NL East) secured a series victory over the Atlanta Braves at home with a low-scoring 2-1 win. Otto Kemp's RBI double and a Trae Turner sacrifice fly in the fifth inning was enough for lefty Ranger Suárez to hold Atlanta's offense to one run over seven innings of work. Reliever Matt Strahm recorded his fifth save of the campaign after a dicey ninth inning to seal Sunday's contest.
Pitching matchups
Monday: Padres RHP Matt Waldron (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Phillies RHP Zach Wheeler (7-3, 2.45 ERA) 3:35 p.m. PT
Knuckleballer Matt Waldron makes his season debut for the Friars to open the series. The righty had been sidelined with an oblique injury that happened during Spring Training. The 28 year-old was serviceable last season for San Diego, making 26 starts while tossing 146 2/3 innings. The Padres hope he can fill some innings in the absence of ace Michael King and veteran Yu Darvish, who could make this way back to the San Diego rotation soon.
Philadelphia ace Zach Wheeler looks to keep his great season going after a six inning shutout performance against the Houston Astros in his latest start. The two-time All-Star is 4-1 at home this season with a 2.39 ERA, 66 strikeouts, and a .177 batting average against.
Tuesday: Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (8-2, 3.36 ERA) vs. Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (6-2, 2.79 ERA) 3:35 p.m. PT
Nick Pivetta has anchored the Padres rotation all season and is coming off perhaps his best performance of the season. The righty threw seven shoutout innings against the Washington Nationals on June 25, striking out 10 batters while issuing no walks. Pivetta made his major league debut as a member of the Phillies in 2017 and would remain in the organization until he was traded to the Boston Red Sox in August 2020.
Sanchez will go in the middle game for Philadelphia. The lefty is coming off a five inning shutout effort against the Astros, in which he struck out 11 hitters. He searches for his sixth consecutive quality start this time around against the Padres.
Wednesday: Padres RHP Dylan Cease (3-7, 4.53 ERA) vs. Phillies RHP Mick Abel (2-1, 3.47 ERA) 10:05 a.m. PT
Dylan Cease's 2025 season continues to be underwhelming. The right-hander's lack of consistency is alarming in a time where San Diego needs him more than ever. He pitched a short four innings on a total of 93 pitches, giving up three earned runs on five hits. Walks continued to be an issue, as he surrendered three free passes in the outing.
Abel is looking for a bounce back from his last start when he surrendered four earned runs on six hits against the New York Mets on June 21. The rookie has impressed and is looking to be a mainstay of the Philadelphia rotation for the foreseeable future.
Who's hot?
Padres:
1B Luis Arraez is batting .323 and is getting on base at a .343 clip in his last 15 contests. LF Gavin Sheets continues his resurgent season. The slugger has driven in 10 RBIs and has a .944 OPS in his last 57 at-bats. LHP Adrian Morejon continues his dominant run out of the pen' with no earned runs allowed in the month of June.
Phillies:
Slugging LF Kyle Schwarber has a .923 OPS on the season and collected four hits including a homer over the weekend against the Braves. SS Trea Turner had a monster game on Friday going 4-for-6 including two solo home runs and a double. RHP Orion Kerkering has a 1.42 ERA with eight punch outs in his last 6 1/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen.
Early takeaways
The Friars would like to come away with at least a series win after having one ripped out of their hands in Cincinnati. Coming into the three game set against Philadelphia, San Diego sit a game out of the third NL Wild Card spot and have dipped to seven games behind first place in the NL West. For now, it'd be smart to prioritize just keeping themselves in the mix for a postseason spot with only two weeks until the All-Star break and wait for potential reinforcements to arrive.
An intense battle for the top spot in the NL East should motivate the Phillies to keep grinding along. They currently possess a game and a half lead over the Mets for first place in the division. The three game set against the Padres is Philadelphia's penultimate home series before the break, which bodes well, considering they've played to a 29-12 record at Citizens Bank Park this season.