Phillies Continue Using New Cleanup Hitter in Lineup Against Paul Skenes

Coming off two straight wins against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Philadelphia Phillies will be back in action on Saturday afternoon, going for a sweep.

With a record of (23-23) entering Sunday’s finale, the Phillies are playing some great baseball, and getting back to the .500 mark is a significant development for the team. Following the (9-19) start to the year that resulted in them firing their manager, Philadelphia looks like the team that everyone expected them to be of late.

While the schedule did get a little bit easier, the team is starting to fire on all cylinders. The starting rotation led by Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler has been very strong and the lineup is starting to find their groove led by a red-hot Kyle Schwarber.

On Saturday, Sanchez put together one of his best outings of the season against the Pirates. The southpaw recorded a complete game shutout with 13 strikeouts, marking one of the best performances for any starter this year.

Now, it will be Wheeler on the mound with a chance to complete the sweep. The talented right-hander will be going toe-to-toe with the reigning National League Cy Young award winner, Paul Skenes, in an excellent matchup.

Skenes is one of the best in the game, and the Phillies will be using a lineup that has had some success of late.

Alec Bohm Stays at Cleanup

Today’s Phillies lineup vs. Paul Skenes:

Turner 6
Schwarber DH
Harper 3
Bohm 5
Marsh 7
García 9
Stott 4
Realmuto 2
Crawford 8

Wheeler RHP
— Lochlahn March (@lochlahn) May 17, 2026

In this series against the Pirates, it has been the struggling Bohm getting moved up in the lineup, batting cleanup for the team. The move by manager Don Mattingly has seemingly worked with the Phillies scoring 11 runs on Friday and following it up with six on Saturday.

For Bohm in particular, the results have been good, going 3-for-10 at the plate with a double. Entering Sunday, the former All-Star is on a seven-game hitting streak, with three multi-hit games during that stretch. The slugger getting going has certainly helped the offense, and the argument can be made that he is a key part of the team.

With the Phillies already winning their sixth straight series, a win against Skenes would really be a nice momentum builder. Furthermore, a victory would also get them back over the .500 mark, which could really propel their confidence.

Overall, while the pitchers will be who to watch in this one, the lineup for Philadelphia has been much better and is showing some encouraging signs.

Add us as a preferred source on Google