Diamondbacks Face Phillies After Winning Big Series in New York

The Arizona Diamondbacks are coming off a big series win against the New York Mets, something they had not done on the road since 2017. Not only was this important to execute against a National League rival, but it also stopped the bleeding of a three-series losing streak.

Now, the D-backs head to Philidelphia to take on a strong Phillies club in a key three-game set. As things stand ahead of Friday's matchup, Arizona is only 0.5 games behind the Phillies for a Wild Card position (as of this writing). While monitoring those positions closely at this time of year may still be pointless, taking an early lead in the tiebreaker between the clubs could make a big impact.

Health Updates

It looks almost certain that MVP finalist Ketel Marte will return from the Injured List for this series. He is already in Philadelphia and should return at the start of the matchup. The corresponding move is still unclear. The team must choose between optioning rookie infielder Tim Tawa or Jorge Barrosa, or DFA Garrett Hampson.

Tawa has been a great hitter but isn't a natural shortstop, something the team has stated is a priority within the utility role. If they both Tawa and Hampson, then Barrosa would have to go back to Reno. Both Hampson and Tawa can play outfield.

The Diamondbacks also placed young flamethrower Justin Martinez on the Injured List on Thursday morning, calling up Jose Castillo in a corresponding move. Martinez has worked as Arizona's closer to start the season but after a phase of shoulder fatigue lost nearly five MPH off his fastball, and struggled mightily with command.

Pitching Matchups

Friday, May 2 • 3:45 p.m. MST

For the Diamondbacks this series kicks off with veteran right-hander Merrill Kelly who is coming off four straight fantastic starts. Kelly has gone at least 5.2 innings in each of those last four outings, pitching to a 2.28 ERA over that span and holding opponents to a .145 batting average.

His overall numbers on the season are still inflated, after being hit hard by the Yankees, allowing nine earned runs in only 3.2 innings of work in his second start of the year. His season ERA now sits at 4.41, with 25 strikeouts in 32.2 innings pitched.

The Phillies will be starting Jesus Luzardo, the former Marlin who was acquired this winter. The left-hander has been dominant, pitching to a 1.73 ERA in 2025, striking out 41 hitters in 36.1 innings of work.

Against left-handers the D-backs have struggled mightily, hitting .232 as a team, with a combined OPS of only .646. They have hit only four home runs against southpaws whereas they have belted an MLB-leading 38 home runs against right handers.

Saturday, May 3 • 3:05 p.m. MST

Brandon Pfaadt goes for the Diamondbacks on Saturday, after putting up by far the best numbers in the rotation to this point. He leads Arizona starters with a 5-1 record and 2.78 ERA six turns through the rotation. He also leads the club in innings pitched with 35.2. Pfaadt led the team in innings last year with 181.

The young right-hander has been even more dominant in his last four starts, pitching to a 1.52 ERA, striking out 20 in 23.2 innings pitched. Pfaadt has faced an incredible amount of left-handed hitters in 2025, with only 30% of his batters faced coming with a platoon advantage. This has forced him to get creative in his approach on the mound.

Facing the D-backs will be Aaron Nola, whom they are quite familiar with at this point. In six appearances against the Diamondbacks in his career, the right-hander has an ERA of 7.31, with 33 strikeouts.

During 2025 so far Nola has pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 35 innings, allowing 11 runs in his last 18.2 innings pitched. Still, his last outing showed some positive signs, going seven innings against a hot Cubs offense and allowing only a single run on three hits.

Sunday, May 4 • 11:05 a.m. MST

Sunday will be a battle of the southpaws as Eduardo Rodriguez gets the start in the series finale. His last outing against the Mets can only be described as a disaster, going four innings and allowing eight runs.

Before that outing however he had pitched quite well. In 28.2 innings ahead of that start he had worked to a 4.40 ERA, consistently working five or more innings in every start. Still, he will need to command his pitches far better than previously against an offense first Phillies squad.

For Philadelphia, it will be the season debut of Ranger Suarez, who will be activated from the injured list, where he's been since the start of the season with back tightness. The lefty starter is coming off an All-Star campaign in 2024, where he pitched to a 3.46 ERA in 150.2 innings.

Just like with Luzardo, the D-backs will face a tough challenge ahead. Suarez has, however, struggled against the Diamondbacks in his career, pitching to a 5.09 ERA in nine outings.

Who's Hot, Who's Not?

Young shortstop Geraldo Perdomo has been a force at the top of the Diamondbacks' lineup during Marte's absence. The former All-Star has been hitting extremely well, with a .304 average, six RBI, and a .433 OBP in his last seven games.

Perdomo has also seen a surprising power surge in 2025. The normally light-hitting infielder known for his scrappy at-bats and great eye at the plate has belted five home runs on the young season, one shy of tying a career high.

Eugenio Suarez is a complicated case, as while he has a .320 batting average with an .880 slugging percentage over his last seven games, much of that is due to his historic four homer night against the Braves. He became only the 19th player in history, and the second consecutive Diamondback to reach the milestone.

Still, Suarez tallied only one hit during the D-backs' time in New York, going 1-for-12, scoring one run and driving in another during Thursday's series finale.

Another star Diamondback who finds himself surprisingly on the cold seat is outfielder Corbin Carroll. After starting the season flaming hot he seems to have simmered down a bit, hitting .156 over his last seven games with no walks and eleven strikeouts.

While concerning, Carroll is still finding ways to contribute, driving in a run and scoring two himself during this period. This stretch of underperformance isn't on the same level as his lull in 2024, but is more likely a natural effect of the hot start he had, regressing to the mean.

For the Phillies, Bryce Harper has found himself in a slump. To begin 2025 he is hitting .234 with five home runs and has a .793 OPS. Over his last seven games things have compounded, with the left-handed superstar hitting only .148 with a .222 slugging percentage.

Bullpens

The Diamondbacks' bullpen has been ravaged by injury to kick off the year. The club's co-closers in A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez have each been placed on the injured list, leaving Arizona with an uncertain position during save situations. This is for a bullpen that is already 22nd in bullpen ERA one month into the season.

Kevin Ginkel returned from the injured list during the D-backs' most recent series against the Mets, pitching well in his only outing. He looks to be a shoo-in for the highest leverage situations, however. With Kendall Graveman still injured, and the workload rising quickly on arms like Jalen Beeks and Shelby Miller, manager Torey Lovullo will need to get creative.

When it comes to the Phillies' bullpen, things may look even worse. Coming into play on Thursday, Philadelphia ranked 27th out of 30 MLB bullpens with a 5.03 ERA. This comes after a season in 2024 where they finished 14th in the same metric.

Much of this comes from a significant lack of relief depth. While the Phillies do have excellent options in Matt Strahm and Jose Alvarado, past them things look dire. The front office hoped for a rebound from former Blue Jays All-Star reliever Jordan Romano but things simply haven't worked out so far.

Behind that group is a weak mid-leverage group of pitchers. This includes arms like former Diamondback Jose Ruiz, top prospect Orion Kerkering, and former White Sox reliever Tanner Banks.

While Arizona doesn't have the same level of back-end options, their middle relief core should give them an advantage over the Phillies during this series.

Be sure to also check out the Snakes Territory Podcast where Jack Sommers and Jesse Friedman discuss all the latest Diamondbacks news. As a special bonus feature, Matt Gelb, who covers the Phillies for The Athletic, spoke with Jesse to bring us up to date on all things Phillies.