The Philadelphia Phillies (55-29) begin a six-game road trip on Tuesday night as they head to Wrigley Field to face the Chicago Cubs (39-46). The teams will play a three-game series before the Phillies head to Atlanta for the weekend. The Phillies finished June with a series split at home against the Miami Marlins, which was probably a good outcome after losing Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber on Friday. The Phils are 6-4 in their last 10 games and still reign as the top team in baseball, with an 8.0-game lead over the Braves. Coming off three straight series losses, the Cubs are in a funk. They’re 3-7 in their last 10 games and sit last in the NL Central, 11.0 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubbies haven’t faired well against teams over .500, with a 21-28 recoMichael Mercado (0-0) will make his first MLB start on Tuesday. He made his MLB debut last Monday against the Detroit Tigers, throwing a clean inning and recording his first career strikeout. In 10 games as a starter in Triple-A, the 25-year-old right-hander went 1-1 with an impressive 1.98 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 39 strikeouts in 41 innings. Hayden Wesneski (2-4) will counter for the Cubs. The 26-year-old righty has a 3.60 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 21 games (four starts) this season. In his start against the Giants last week, he went four innings, allowing three earned runs on just two hits (both home runs) while striking out seven and walking one.
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