The Philadelphia Phillies, since firing Rob Thomson and handing the keys over to Don Mattingly, have gone 7-1 and have had a lot of positive momentum.
But there is still some concern about how good this team will actually be this season overall. And the biggest concern revolves around 1 thing: their ability against lefty pitching.
As Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer noted, for the first time in the Mattingly era, the Phillies will face a left-handed starting pitcher. This is a big test, as the Phillies have yet to win once against a lefty starter this year.
Phillies face their first real test of Don Mattingly era
“Also, in starting 7-1 under Don Mattingly, the Phillies have not yet faced a left-handed starting pitcher,” Lauber writes. “That streak is set to end Wednesday night against A’s lefty Jeffrey Springs. The Phillies are 0-10 vs. non-opener lefty starters.”
The Phillies haven’t won a single game against a left-handed starter this season. And for the first time since Mattingly took over, they will get their chance to exorcise those demons.
Springs has been a solid starter for the Athletics this season, posting a 3.96 ERA with a 3-2 record across 38.2 innings pitched with 35 strikeouts and 12 walks.
It won’t be an easy matchup on its own, but with the Phillies’ struggles against lefty pitching, things will be even more of a concern tonight for the biggest test of the Mattingly era.
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This season, Phillies hitters have a .519 OPS and .175 batting average against left-handed starting pitchers, while their .258 average and .766 OPS against right-handed starters look a lot better.
The Phillies are a bit better against lefty relievers, with their overall OPS vs. left-handed pitching this season at .592. Still not great, but a good deal better than the .519 OPS they have when a left-hander starts the game for the opposing team.
Ironically, the biggest issue isn’t the lefty batters, it’s the righties. Left-handed hitters have a .685 OPS vs. lefty pitching, while right-handed hitters have a .522 OPS vs. lefty pitching.
So for tonight’s matchup against Springs, the Phillies will need J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm, and Adolis Garcia to play a lot better than they have against lefty pitchers.
This is the first big test for Mattingly since he took over the Phillies team. If they can hit well against the lefty Springs, then things could begin to look more promising than simply beating some mediocre at-best teams.
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