The Phillies have lost two straight, not what they hoped for in the scheme of things. They start a pretty good lefty on Monday to get back on track. Ranger Suarez has re-found his form over his last 7 games, with an ERA of just 1.54. It is hard to argue with those numbers. For what ever reason, he is much better when pitching on the road.

The Diamondbacks have some excellent starting pitchers, but surprisingly, the aging veteran left hander Bumgarner, is not one of them. He has given up dangerously close to a run an inning lately and hasn’t had a quality start in 6 appearances. He did hold the Phillies to 3 runs over 5 innings back in June.

This is a very winnable game for the Phillies. They are very solid vs left-handed pitching, their runs scored to runs allowed is very favorable. Not so the D-backs, on either account. The Phillies are hitting well over the last two weeks at .277/.760, considerably better than Arizona.

I am on Suarez and the Phillies today. Time is running out, and the Phillies will be motivated to get back in the win column. With Bumgarner, we seem to be witnessing the tail end of a very good starter’s career. Take the youngster and the Phillies to win on Monday.