Philadelphia's outfield is thinner than it wants to be right now, with Johan Rojas, Adolis Garcia and Felix Reyes all out, and Bryce Harper has been managing soreness in his left knee since shifting positions after the trade deadline, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. St. Louis, meanwhile, is still waiting on Ramon Urias to work his way back from a rehab assignment at Triple-A Memphis, and closer depth took a hit when Max Rajcic revealed he underwent right elbow UCL reconstruction, ending his season.
Friday's series opener in Philadelphia comes first and will shape a lot of what Saturday looks like — bullpen usage, lineup tweaks, maybe even who's healthy. These two also squared off in St. Louis back on August 10-12, with the Cardinals taking that set, so neither club is a stranger to the other's stuff heading into this one.
Kyle Schwarber has been raking in August — 4 home runs and 13 walks in the stretch, per ESPN — and Harper has reached base in 23 straight games with a 10-game walk streak riding into this weekend. St. Louis has been streakier, alternating wins and losses across its last 5 against Cincinnati before closing that stretch with a win, evidence of a lineup that can go off but hasn't found the Phillies' kind of consistency.
- 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias (elbows) has been sent to Triple-A Memphis to resume a rehab assignment, John Denton of Roundtable.io reports.08/04
- 60-Day-ILMax Rajcic (RP) — Rajcic revealed on his Instagram account Thursday that he recently underwent a right elbow UCL reconstruction.07/23
- 10-Day-ILRafael Marchan (C) — Marchan (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.08/13
- 15-Day-ILCaleb Kilian (RP) — Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said that Kilian suffered a right side injury during his relief appearance in Sunday's 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays in 12 innings, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports. Kilian allowed an unearned run on one hit over an inning of relief en route to earning his fourth win of the season.08/10
- 60-Day-ILFelix Reyes (LF) — The Phillies optioned Reyes to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.08/20
- 60-Day-ILTanner Banks (RP) — Banks (forearm) has progressed to throwing bullpen sessions, per MLB.com.08/16
- 60-Day-ILBrad Keller (RP) — Keller underwent right elbow UCL reconstruction surgery with internal brace and flexor tendon repair Tuesday, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.07/29
- 60-Day-ILJohan Rojas (CF) — Rojas (suspension) underwent surgery Friday to repair the UCL in his right elbow and will face an expected recovery timeline of 6-to-8 months, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.06/25
- 60-Day-ILAdolis Garcia (RF) — The Phillies announced that Garcia underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair a torn right lat, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.06/24
Neither team is fully healthy and neither has much margin left in the Wild Card race, which is exactly what makes Saturday worth watching even before the umpire says play ball.