Justin Verlander, Giants aim to hold down slumping Phils

Justin Verlander hasn’t been at his best this season, but perhaps a matchup with the scuffling Philadelphia Phillies could prove to be the cure.

Verlander takes the ball for the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday when they continue their four-game road set against the Phillies.

Through three starts for San Francisco, Verlander (0-0, 6.92 ERA) has yet to make it through six innings once. He allowed six runs, five earned, in 5 2/3 innings during a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. The 42-year-old right-hander posted season highs in strikeouts (nine) and walks (three).

“I would have liked to have done better,” said Verlander, who was on the hook for the loss before his teammates rallied and earned an 8-6, 10-inning win. “It’s early, but I think you can see this team’s pretty good.”

The Giants looked strong in the series opener on Monday, posting a 10-4 victory behind three RBIs apiece from Tyler Fitzgerald and Mike Yastrzemski. San Francisco earned its fourth win in five games. Philadelphia has scored just 10 runs in the past five games, losing four times.

Fitzgerald finished a single shy of the cycle as he consistently delivered from the No. 9 spot in the order.

“It’s about time that the bottom of the lineup kind of steps up for the top of the lineup,” he said. “I’m just happy to participate in the runs. We have some guys carrying us so far this season, like (Wilmer Flores) and Jung Hoo (Lee), and it’s important for some other guys to step up now and then.”

Philadelphia, meanwhile, went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position while losing for the fourth time in five games. The Phillies scored three runs in the first inning but added only a fifth-inning solo homer from Nick Castellanos thereafter.

“I think they’re trying to do too much, they’re getting pull-side happy,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “A lot of ground balls. They have to get back to what we were doing early in the year — getting good pitches to hit, controlling the strike zone and using the entire field.”

Thomson opted to rest Brandon Marsh, whose batting average is down to .108. Alec Bohm (.156) and J.T. Realmuto (.222) are among the other Phillies still looking to find their groove.

“They just need to relax,” Thomson said of his team, in general. “It’s going to happen. We’ve got a long way to go. … We haven’t played our best baseball, that’s for sure. We need to get better — and we will. We’ve got a good club.”

If Philadelphia continues to struggle on offense, at least the team can count on Jesus Luzardo to keep the opponent in check.

Luzardo (2-0, 1.50 ERA), acquired in an offseason trade with the Miami Marlins, has allowed only three runs in 18 innings over his first three starts for the Phillies. In two starts this month, he has faced a pair of talented offenses in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves and has limited them to one run and eight hits in 13 innings combined.

Two current Giants players with good numbers against Luzardo are Flores (5-for-11) and Willy Adames (3-for-8), who hit his first home run with San Francisco in the series opener. Luzardo owns a 1-1 record with a 7.23 ERA in four lifetime starts vs. the Giants.

Meanwhile, Bryce Harper is 4-for-8 lifetime against Verlander. Phillies outfielder Max Kepler is 1-for-23 against the three-time Cy Young Award winner, who is 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA in four career starts against Philadelphia.

–Field Level Media