May 7, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) reacts after beating the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Phillies Set Up Pitching Rotation for Key Upcoming Series with Braves

Originally posted on Philadelphia Phillies on SI
By Anders Pryor | Last updated May 25, 2025 7:00 PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies are set to take on the Atlanta Braves this week in a key matchup as they look to open up room on the the New York Mets in the race for the National League East.

The Phillies will be taking on the Braves in a homestand that will also feature the Milwaukee Brwers on the backend, and the pitching matchups are set to go, as reported by MLB.com.

Rob Thompson is alternating hand dominance for at least the first five games of the homestand. Left-hander Ranger Suárez will go out to take on righty Spencer Strider.

Suárez is on a three-game quality start streak, most recently knocking down 6.2 innings of shutout ball against the Colorado Rockies.

Right-hander Zack Wheeler will then go Wednesday, likely entering an "old vs. new" bout against rookie star AJ Smith-Shawver, who has a 3.67 ERA on the season.

#Phillies rotation order for the start of the upcoming homestand, per Rob Thomson:
Tuesday vs. ATL: LHP Ranger Suárez
Wednesday vs. ATL: RHP Zack Wheeler
Thursday vs. ATL: LHP Cristopher Sánchez
Friday vs. MIL: RHP Taijuan Walker
Saturday vs. MIL: LHP Jesús Luzardo
— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) May 25, 2025

Left-hander Christopher Sánchez will round out the Braves series, likely facing reigning NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale. He'll wrap up the effort to minimize the Braves' offense, which has been incredibly shaky and inconsistent all year but should be getting a spark with the return of Ronald Acuña Jr. to the lineup.

Right-hander Taijuan Walker will make his eighth start of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers to open the second series. He's been used both as a starter and long reliever this year, but will now be a full part of the rotation with Aaron Nola on IL and Mick Abel in Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Left-hander Jesús Luzardo will then close out the homestand for Thompson and Philadelphia in the second game against Milwaukee.

He has the best ERA of any starter on the team at 1.95, the sixth best in MLB. He will look to continue his impressive campaign against a Brewers team that ranks 25th in average, 21st in OBP, and 26th in OPS according to FanGraphs.

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

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