Franco starts at the hot corner as Billingsley gets the nod for series opener start against Diamondbacks

With infielder prospect Maikel Franco now promoted, the Philadelphia Phillies (13-23) will seek to win their third consecutive game tonight as they oppose the National League West's Arizona Diamondbacks (15-18).


Starting Pitching Matchup:

Arizona Diamondbacks (15-18) Philadelphia Phillies (13-23)
RHP Chase Anderson RHP Chad Billingsley
(0-1, 2.97 ERA) (0-2, 9.00 ERA)

Anderson, 27, was selected in the ninth round of the 2009 amateur draft by the Diamondbacks. He went on to finish tenth in the National League Rookie of the Year race in 2014, going 9-7 with a 4.01 ERA in 21 starts.

Year Age W L W-L% ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF
2014 26 9 7 .563 4.01 21 21 114.1 117 56 51 16 40 2 105 2 0 4 486
2015 27 0 1 .000 2.97 6 6 36.1 31 12 12 2 9 1 29 1 0 1 143
2 Yrs 9 8 .529 3.76 27 27 150.2 148 68 63 18 49 3 134 3 0 5 629

The right hander native to Wichita Falls, Texas, made his major league debut nearly a year ago today, on May 11, 2014 against the Chicago White Sox. He allowed just one earned run, two hits and a walk in 5.1 innings of work.

Prior to tonight, Anderson has never faced the Phillies. His opposition, Philadelphia's Chad Billingsley, has over 20 career starts against Arizona, having been in the National League West as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006-2013. 

In 27 career games facing the Diamondbacks, 25 starts, Billingsley is 10-9 with a 3.83 ERA over 155.0 innings. His last start against the 2001 World Series champions came back on July 7, 2012. Billingsley received a losing decision, allowing six hits and four earned runs over six innings. He recorded his 1,000th career strikeout that game, however, becoming the 12th Dodger to ever accomplish such feat.

Date   Opp Rslt Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BF Pit Str StL StS GB FB LD PU AB 2B 3B
May 5 @ ATL L,0-9 L(0-1) 5.0 8 6 5 1 2 2 9.00 23 77 46 11 5 10 10 5 2 21 0 0
May 10   NYM L,4-7 L(0-2) 5.0 8 5 5 1 3 1 9.00 24 82 56 18 2 8 12 5 2 23 3 0
          10.0 16 11 10 2 5 3 9.00 47                      

Billingsley made his debut as a Phillie on May 5, having been sidelined since April of 2013 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and a torn flexor tendon in the elbow. In each of his two starts this season against the Braves and Mets, he has lasted five innings, allowing eight hits, one walk and five earned runs.


Starting Lineups:

Arizona Diamondbacks (15-18) Philadelphia Phillies (13-23)
  Position Player Bats   Position Player Bats
1 LF  Ender Inciarte L 1 LF Ben Revere L
2 RF A.J. Pollock R 2 SS Freddy Galvis S
3 1B Paul Goldschmidt R 3 RF Grady Sizemore L
4 CF  David Peralta L 4 1B Ryan Howard L
5 2B Chris Owings R 5 3B Maikel Franco R
6 3B Cliff Pennington S 6 2B Chase Utley L
7 C Tuffy Gosewisch R 7 CF Odubel Herrera L
8 SS Nick Ahmed  R 8 C Carlos Ruiz R
9 P Chase Anderson R 9 P Chad Billingsley R


Game Notes:

  • Newly-recalled prospect Franco, 22, will start at third base this evening for his 2015 debut. In 16 games last season, he batted .179 (10-56) with two doubles and five runs-batted-in. This season over 141 at-bats at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the Dominican Republic native batted .355 (50-141) with 12 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 24 runs-batted-in.

  • Since last Friday, second baseman Chase Utley is batting .174 (4-23), with a double, run-batted-in, walk, and five strikeouts. Utley did have a four-game hitting streak over May 9-12, however he is 0-8 over the two games since.

As noted by Meghan Montemurro of The News Journal, Utley will be batting sixth tonight for the first time since April 16, 2005.

  • Diamondbacks infielder Aaron Hill has batted .333 (3-9) with two doubles, a home run, and two runs-batted-in in his career against Billingsley.
  • Outfielder Ender Inciarte of Arizona was a former Rule-5 draft selection by the Phillies in December 2012. Inciarte made the 2013 Opening Day roster, however he was soon returned to Arizona as the Phillies acquired Ezequiel Carrera on April 2, 2013.

Broadcast Information:

  • First-pitch: 7:05 pm EST
  • TV: CSN, MLBN
  • Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)

What's Next:

Saturday, May 16, 2015: vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 7:05 pm

Sunday, May 17, 2015: vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 1:35 pm


Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.

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