By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Playing in their first game since Sunday following the All-Star Break, the Philadelphia Phillies (47-43) and RHP Nick Pivetta will open their unofficial second half of the season Friday evening opposite RHP Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals (47-42) at Citizens Bank Park. Strasburg is undefeated in 11 career starts at the Phillies' home venue, going 5-0 with a 2.30 ERA.
The Phillies will play each of their next seven games at home through July 18 (three against the Nationals and four against the Major League Baseball-best Los Angeles Dodgers).
Earlier on Friday, the Phillies placed catcher J.T. Realmuto on the paternity leave list and called up catcher Rob Brantly from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Realmuto will rejoin the Phillies on Saturday. Reliever Pat Neshek was transferred to the 60-day injured list, making up ineligible to return until August 19 at the earliest.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Washington Nationals (47-42) | Philadelphia Phillies (47-43) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Stephen Strasburg | RHP | Nick Pivetta | ||
| (10-4, 3.64 ERA) | (4-3, 5.84 ERA) | ||||
RHP Stephen Strasburg, Age: 30
- Career vs. PHI: 12-2, 2.72 ERA, 25 G, 25 GS, 158 2/3 IP, 116 H, 55 R, 48 ER, 15 HR, 34 BB, 191 SO, 0.945 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 5-0, 2.30 ERA, 11 G, 11 GS, 66 2/3 IP, 48 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 5 HR, 21 BB, 83 SO, 1.035 WHIP
RHP Nick Pivetta, Age: 26
- Career vs. WSN: 1-6, 10.80 ERA, 9 G, 8 GS, 31 2/3 IP, 51 R, 38 R, 38 ER, 13 HR, 21 BB, 31 SO, 2.274 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 12-11, 4.79 ERA, 36 G, 35 GS, 189 2/3 IP, 192 H, 106 R, 101 ER, 37 HR, 56 BB, 215 SO, 1.308 WHIP
Starting Lineups:
| Washington Nationals (47-42) | Philadelphia Phillies (47-43) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | SS | Trea Turner | R | 1 | CF | Scott Kingery | R |
| 2 | RF | Adam Eaton | L | 2 | SS | Jean Segura | R |
| 3 | 3B | Anthony Rendon | R | 3 | RF | Bryce Harper | L |
| 4 | LF | Juan Soto | L | 4 | 1B | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 5 | 1B | Ryan Zimmerman | R | 5 | LF | Jay Bruce | L |
| 6 | 2B | Brian Dozier | R | 6 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 7 | C | Kurt Suzuki | R | 7 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 8 | CF | Victor Robles | R | 8 | C | Andrew Knapp | S |
| 9 | P | Stephen Strasburg | R | 9 | P | Nick Pivetta | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 6:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- With 72 games to go, the Phillies sit in third place in the National League East and hold the second spot in the National League Wild Card race.
- If Brantly enters a game with the Phillies while filling in for Realmuto (paternity leave list), he will be the club's 46th different player this season, The Athletic's Matt Gelb notes. They used 48 different players all of last season.
- The Phillies are on pace for 85 wins; only one team over the last decade has made the playoffs with at least as many wins, 6abc's Jeff Skversky notes.
- Active Phillies Hitting Streaks of 5+ Games:
- C J.T. Realmuto (8 games): 32 AB, 7 R, 13 H, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 6 SO, .406/.457/.531
- LF Jay Bruce (6 games): 26 AB, 3 R, 9 H, 3 HR, 9 RB I, 0 BB, 3 SO, .346/.346/.731
- RF Bryce Harper (5 games): 20 AB, 3 R, 7 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SO, .350/.458/.550
- The Nationals have homered in a franchise record 21 straight games.
- The Phillies have lost four of their last five games against the Nationals, outscored 26-21 and outhit 41-39.
- Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco has homered three times in 27 career at-bats opposite Strasburg. Likewise, Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon has gone yard four times spanning just 18 at-bats facing Pivetta (click to expand).
What's Next:
- Saturday, July 13, 2019: vs. Washington Nationals, 7:15 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- LHP Patrick Corbin (7-5, 3.34 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (8-2, 3.74 ERA)
- TV: FOX; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
