By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies (32-61) and right-hander Aaron Nola will commence a three-game series against the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers (52-46) Friday evening at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies open the 10-game homestand facing right-hander Matt Garza, who makes his first road start since June 24.
The Phillies are coming off of their third road series win and just their seventh series win overall, taking two of three contests against the Miami Marlins July 17-19 at Marlins Park. In Wednesday's matinee finale, the Phillies scored 10 runs on 20 hits en route to a 10-3 victory. Their 20 hits was the club's most base-knocks in a game since 2013. Trade candidate OF Daniel Nava went 4-5, raising his batting average to an even .300 with less than two weeks before the non-waiver deadline.
Both clubs previously met July 14-16 at Miller Park, in which Milwaukee took two of three games in the set.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Milwaukee Brewers (52-46) | Philadelphia Phillies (32-61) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Matt Garza | RHP | Aaron Nola | ||
| (4-4, 3.84 ERA) | (6-6, 3.54 ERA) | ||||
Garza Career vs. PHI: 2-2, 2.28 ERA, 9 G, 9 GS, 59 1/3 IP, 45 H, 17 R, 15 ER, 2 HR, 19 BB, 39 SO, 1.079 WHIP
Garza's most recent start came against the Phillies on July 16 (no-decision). Pitching on 10 days rest coming off of the All-Star break, Garza allowed one run — an Odubel Herrera RBI double — through five innings on three hits, three walks and a strikeout.
Season Splits, By Month:
- April: 2 GS, 1-0, 3.38 ERA, 10 2/3 IP, 11 SO, 3 BB, .233/.283/.442
- May: 5 GS, 1-2, 4.20 ERA, 30 IP, 20 SO, 5 BB, .277/.303/.473
- June: 5 GS, 1-2, 4.97 ERA, 25 1/3 IP, 16 SO, 9 BB, .270/.330/.400
- July: 2 GS, 1-0, 0.79 ERA, 11 1/3 IP, 5 SO, 5 BB, .195/.283/.293
Nola Career vs. MIL: 2-0, 1.42 ERA, 3 G, 3 GS, 19 IP, 19 H, 3 R, 3 ER, HR, 6 BB, 23 SO, 1.316 WHIP
Nola, 24, also faces the Brewers for a second consecutive start. On July 15 at Miller Park, the right-hander received the no-decision, allowing two runs on seven hits, two walks and seven strikeouts through six innings.
Season Splits, By Month:
- April: 3 GS, 2-0, 4.50 ERA, 16 IP, 15 SO, 6 BB, .317/.377/.413
- May: 3 GS, 0-3, 5.63 ERA, 16 IP, 14 SO, 5 BB, .242/.309/.387
- June: 5 GS, 3-2, 3.24 ERA, 33 1/3 IP, 35 SO, 11 BB, .220/.284/.350
- July: 3 GS, 1-1, 1.71 ERA, 21 IP, 24 SO, 5 BB, .190/.238/.316
Starting Lineups:
| Milwaukee Brewers (52-46) | Philadelphia Phillies (32-61) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Jonathan Villar | S | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | 1B | Eric Thames | L | 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 3 | RF | Domingo Santana | R | 3 | RF | Nick Williams | L |
| 4 | 3B | Travis Shaw | L | 4 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 5 | LF | Hernan Perez | R | 5 | LF | Daniel Nava | S |
| 6 | C | Manny Pina | R | 6 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R |
| 7 | CF | Brett Phillips | L | 7 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 8 | SS | Orlando Arcia | R | 8 | C | Andrew Knapp | S |
| 9 | P | Matt Garza | R | 9 | P | Aaron Nola | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBC10
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Phillies rookie outfielder Nick Williams is in the midst of a five-game hitting streak, where he is hitting .429/.435/1.000 with nine hits, four runs scored, two home runs, 10 RBIs, one walk and five strikeouts over 21 at-bats. Williams' 11 RBIs since July 14 is tied with Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia for the most in baseball.
- Herrera is 4-7 lifetime against Garza with three doubles and three RBIs, slashing .571/.571/1.000. Nava and third baseman Maikel Franco, meanwhile, are a combined 0-9 against the Brewers' right-hander with two walks.
- Nola has allowed two runs or less in each of his last five starts, combining for a 1.78 ERA and 0.99 WHIP spanning 35 1/3 innings. The right-hander's 1.78 ERA since June 21 is the sixth-lowest among qualified National League starters, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (0.50), Alex Wood (0.72) and Rich Hill (1.74), the Washington Nationals' Max Scherzer (1.30) and the St. Louis Cardinals' Michael Wacha (1.47).
What's Next:
- Saturday, July 22, 2017: vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- LHP Brent Suter (1-1, 3.09 ERA) vs. RHP Jeremy Hellickson (6-5, 4.44 ERA)
- TV: NBC10; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
