Phillies, Astros turn to top pitchers for interleague contest

The Houston Astros and host Philadelphia Phillies each will send one of their premier arms to the mound on Monday when the teams meet in the opener of a three-game series. Houston will turn to Ronel Blanco (9-6, 3.14 ERA), who is looking to rebound from one of his worst outings of the season. The right-hander lasted just 3 2/3 innings in last Tuesday’s 6-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox, allowing a season-high five earned runs and walking four batters for the first time since May 9. “Physically, I feel really strong, which is the most important thing,” Blanco said through an interpreter following that start, a no-decision. “I’m trying to go out there and compete.” Blanco has not won since July 9 and might have a difficult time breaking out of that rut, as he matches up with Philadelphia right-hander Zack Wheeler (12-6, 2.73). Wheeler, one of the leading candidates for the National League Cy Young Award, has yielded two runs or fewer in nine of his past 10 outings. The All-Star gave up two runs over six innings last Tuesday to take a loss against the Atlanta Braves. “I’d rather go seven (innings),” Wheeler said. “That’s my goal every time. Six is also good, but I also let up two runs. We lost the game. These are important games, and we need to win. We have to just keep that momentum going.” Both starters have made one career appearance against Monday’s opposing team, with each outing coming back in 2023. Blanco gave up two hits in one scoreless inning of relief against the Phillies. Wheeler is 1-0 vs. the Astros after giving up three hits and a walk while striking out seven in six scoreless innings of a 6-1 Philadelphia win. The Phillies enter Monday with a bit of momentum after defeating the Kansas City Royals in back-to-back games by a combined margin of 22-5. In Sunday’s 11-3 triumph, Kyle Schwarber drove in three runs and Garrett Stubbs collected a career-high four hits. In all, the Phillies scored 26 runs in three games against Kansas City after totaling six runs in a disappointing three-game set in Atlanta. “We got our approach back,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said. “Not trying to do too much. Pass the baton. Eliminate chase as much as you can. I thought our at-bats were really good.” The Astros, meanwhile, are coming off an up-and-down series against the Baltimore Orioles. They took the opener of the four-game set 6-0 on Thursday before losing a pair of close games. Houston managed to salvage a split of the series with a 6-3 victory on Sunday night. Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz provided the heroics with back-to-back homers in the seventh inning. Bregman finished 2-for-5 on the night. He had been 3-for-17 since returning from a one-week absence due to an elbow injury. “The swing felt the best it’s felt since coming back,” Bregman said. “Obviously, missing some time, you lose a little bit of the rhythm you have.” Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez (neck) could be available on Monday after missing three straight games. This series will also mark a rematch of the 2022 World Series, which Houston won in six games. Philadelphia took two of the three meetings between the teams last season, and this series is the only encounter between the Phillies and Astros this year. –Field Level Media