The Philadelphia Phillies started their first road trip of the season with a pair of impressive wins over the Colorado Rockies. They will go for the sweep when the teams wrap up the three-game series in Denver on Sunday.
Philadelphia, which squeaked out a 2-1 win Saturday night, will send Taijuan Walker (0-1, 11.57 ERA) against Colorado’s Tomoyuki Sugano (0-0, 1.93 ERA) in a matchup of right-handers.
Walker struggled in his first start of the season for the Phillies, allowing seven on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings against Washington on Monday, but he can turn things around against the Rockies. In 10 career starts against Colorado he is 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA.
He went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in two outings against the Rockies in 2025.
Walker can build on the first two starts of the weekend by the Phillies. Aaron Nola and Jesus Luzardo combined to strike out 20 batters and give up just one run each in their outings. Nola benefited from strong run support in a 10-1 win Friday but Philadelphia scored just a pair Saturday night.
The Phillies have struggled to score runs, outside of the 10 runs on Friday, but the players aren’t worried about the offense.
“That’s kind of how seasons go sometimes,” Bryce Harper said. “Some guys have good first months and then have a terrible rest of the season. Or they have a really bad first month and then they win an MVP. That’s why you play the whole season.
“You don’t put too much stock in the first couple games. You just play your game, understand it’s a long season and you’ve just got to find value in playing a full season.”
Philadelphia will go against a pitcher it has never faced. Sugano was sharp in his debut with Colorado on Monday when the Rockies routed Toronto, 14-5. He allowed just a run on two hits but an elevated pitch count limited him to 4 2/3 innings.
Colorado brought in Sugano, 36, to help shore up a rotation that struggled in 2025. The Rockies have pitched better this year but their offense, like the Phillies’, has struggled. Colorado has scored five runs over its last four games.
The Rockies fanned 15 times in their home opener on Friday and 13 more Saturday night.
It has been a factor in the Rockies starting 1-4 in one-run games.
“The big thing (Saturday) with the strikeout is we missed too many pitches in the zone, early in the count,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the 2-1 loss. “You can’t miss pitches early and chase late, it’s a bad combo.”
Even with the strikeout issues, there have been some bright spots. Rookie TJ Rumfield is batting .360 with a home run, Ezequiel Tovar is hitting .294 after going 1-for-4 Saturday night and Troy Johnston, who played 44 games with Miami last season, is batting .333 with one of Colorado’s five home runs through the first eight games.
–Field Level Media
