Apr 8, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh (16) walks off the field in the bottom of the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Justine Willard-Imagn Images

Phillies' Series Opener vs Diamondbacks: Preview, Storylines

Originally posted on Philadelphia Phillies on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Apr 10, 2026 5:28 PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies will be back at home on Friday night to start a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. With a 6-6 record through 12 games, they will be hoping to build some momentum and get over the .500 mark this week.

It has been a bit of an uneven start to the season for the Phillies. With a .500 record, there have been some positives and negatives early on, but the unit hasn’t quite clicked early like they would have liked.

Following a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs, Philadelphia is undoubtedly hoping to have another strong year and try to get back into the postseason. This is a mostly veteran group, but they have started to inject some younger talent into the roster to help build for future success.

On Friday, the matchup against the Diamondbacks will be a challenging one. This is a team that dealt with a ton of injuries last year but has the talent to be a playoff contender in the National League. With both teams sporting similar records so far, this should be a good matchup. Here’s how to watch on Friday night.

Who: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies

When: Friday, April 10, 2026, 6:40 PM EDT

Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA

Television: NBCSP+

Radio: 94 WIP, iHeart App

Pitching Matchup:

To open the series, this will be a matchup between two talented pitchers. For the Phillies, they will be sending left-hander Jesus Luzardo to the mound. After a tough start to the season against the Texas Rangers in which he allowed six runs, the southpaw bounced back in a big way in his most recent start.

Pitching on the road against the Colorado Rockies is never an easy task, but Luzardo had the right formula for success there. In 6.2 innings, he struck out 11 batters, which is a good way to keep the ball in the park. While the overall numbers don’t look great because of the bad start against the Rangers, Luzardo is very capable of having a great performance on Friday.

Luzardo will be facing off against Michael Soroka of the Diamondbacks, who is off to an excellent start to the season. The right-hander has had some injury problems throughout his career but is healthy and pitching well to start the year.

Soroka will be entering Friday with a 2-0 record and 0.90 ERA. For a Phillies lineup that is struggling and hasn’t scored in two games, this matchup is far from ideal right now. Hopefully, they will be able to find a way to build some momentum and get to Soroka early.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Phillies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: