Phillies vs. Reds, D-backs vs. Padres on ESPN

A pair of games will be exclusively broadcast on ESPN on Wednesday.

At 7:10 p.m. ET, the Phillies and Reds will face off in the second game of the series in Cincinnati. At 10:10 p.m. ET, the D-backs and Padres will battle in an NL West showdown in San Diego.

To preview each team, here’s one player to monitor on each club.

Phillies (51-41) vs. Reds (41-49), 7:10 p.m. ET

It’s another ho-hum season for Schwarber, who leads the Majors with 31 long balls, this coming a year after hitting a career-high 56 home runs. This is Schwarber’s eighth season with at least 30 home runs and he’s well on his way to clearing 40 homers for the fourth time in his career. The left-handed slugger recorded his fifth career three-homer game on June 20, tied for the third-most in MLB history. The 33-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down, and with 371 career home runs, reaching the 500 club isn’t out of the question.

Burns has been a dynamic ace for the Reds this season, earning him a selection to his first All-Star Game. Entering Wednesday’s start against the Phillies, Burns ranks as a top 10 qualified pitcher with a 2.40 ERA, a 29.7 percent strikeout rate and 2.9 WAR, per FanGraphs. Burns made a quick rise from the No. 2 pick in the 2024 Draft to a 2026 All-Star. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, here are the last five pitchers before Burns to be selected to the All-Star Game within two years after they were drafted:

Paul Skenes: 2023 Draft, 2024 ASG
José Fernández: 2011 Draft, 2013 ASG
Chris Sale: 2010 Draft, 2012 ASG
Aaron Crow: 2009 Draft, 2011 ASG
Tim Lincecum: 2006 Draft, 2008 ASG

D-backs (45-46) vs. Padres (45-46), 10:10 p.m. ET

After a sluggish beginning to his season, Marte has turned on the jets to inch closer to his career norms. Marte had a .682 OPS through the end of April, but he has an .874 OPS since that point. Marte leads the D-backs with 17 home runs and is one of only three Arizona hitters to reach double digits (Corbin Carroll, 13, and Nolan Arenado, 10). Arizona’s offense has surprisingly struggled, but Marte has done his part since that rough start.

King’s been a steady force amidst a turbulent Padres season, as the right-hander has a 3.52 ERA across 102 1/3 innings in 18 starts. King has allowed three or fewer runs in a dozen of those starts and hasn’t allowed more than five in a single outing — he’s also thrown five-plus innings in all but three starts. Under the hood, King’s numbers haven’t been quite as sharp (4.55 expected ERA, 4.10 FIP), but his run prevention has been good, and he’s already cleared 100 innings for just the third time in his career.