In the midst of one of the best stretches of his career, Andrew Abbott hopes to keep the momentum going Wednesday afternoon when he takes the mound for the visiting Cincinnati Reds in their rubber game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
In three starts this month, Abbott (3-2, 4.21 ERA) has given up only one run in 16 2/3 innings, good for a 0.54 ERA. He allowed a run in five-plus frames Friday against the Cleveland Guardians to remain unbeaten in his past six starts.
“He’s been (pitching) much more like (himself),” manager Terry Francona said after that outing. “It was a lot (of pitches) early, and I thought that kind of wore on him a little bit. But he made some pitches when he really had to. He competed like hell.”
Abbott has never defeated the Phillies in four previous starts. He is 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA lifetime against Philadelphia.
The left-hander could catch a break Wednesday if Kyle Schwarber (illness) is unable to play for the third straight game. The Philadelphia slugger leads the majors with 20 home runs.
Without Schwarber, Philadelphia has managed only eight hits in the first two games of the series. The Phillies snuck out a 5-4 victory on Monday when Bryson Stott homered with two outs in the eighth. Trea Turner homered early in the Tuesday contest, but it wasn’t enough in Philadelphia’s 4-1 setback.
The Phillies, who totaled three hits in six innings against Chase Burns on Tuesday, had won five straight games and eight of nine entering the contest.
“We just didn’t really do a whole lot with him,” Philadelphia interim manager Don Mattingly said of Burns, who combined with a trio of relievers to record 14 strikeouts on the night.
Burns is 3-0 with a 0.72 ERA this month, but the talented right-hander knows — even at 23 years old — that the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint.
“Ride the wave, stay as level as possible,” Burns said. “We’re going to have good times, we’re going to have bad times. It’s just weathering the storm.”
The Phillies have certainly weathered the storm after a tough start. They began the season 9-19, prompting the firing of manager Rob Thomson, but they have won their last six series to move over .500. They can extend their hot stretch to seven straight series victories with a win on Wednesday.
The Reds, meanwhile, had dropped five of their previous seven games before Tuesday, not to mention 11 of their previous 12 road contests.
Philadelphia will turn to Aaron Nola (2-3, 5.91 ERA), who endured another tough outing in his most recent start. The veteran right-hander yielded six runs in 3 2/3 innings on Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He gave up six hits, including two homers, and three walks — three numbers that he likely wasn’t happy about afterward.
“He just couldn’t get his (control). … He needs to pitch,” Mattingly said of Nola, “but he’s not getting the breaking ball over, being able to use his changeup and then miss some spots. It’s probably the least command he’s had this year.”
Nola has made 10 career starts against the Reds, going 5-2 with a 3.57 ERA.
–Field Level Media
