By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Behind RHP Vince Velasquez, the Philadelphia Phillies (24-16) will open a four-game set against RHP Luke Weaver and the St. Louis Cardinals (23-17) Thursday evening at Busch Stadium.
After their Tuesday rainout, the Phillies escaped another potential postponement with a 4-1 victory Wednesday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles. Starter Nick Pivetta tossed seven innings and allowed only one run on two hits and one walk, while striking out 11 batters on 99 total pitches. Relievers Tommy Hunter, Luis Garcia and Edubray Ramos respectively recorded their seventh, ninth and fifth holds of the season, while Hector Neris recorded the final out in the ninth. Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, the Phillies added three runs in the sixth and one in the seventh thanks to a home run by Cesar Hernandez, RBI singles by Maikel Franco and Pedro Florimon and a RBI double by Rhys Hoskins.
Defeating the Orioles extended the Phillies' win streak against American League opponents to four games for the first time since 2010. The club will now play four games in St. Louis before returning home for a six-game homestand against the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays.
The Phillies currently have the second-best winning percentage in the National League (NL, .600) and trail only the Braves (.619) by one game to sit atop both the division and NL.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (24-16) | St. Louis Cardinals (23-17) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Vince Velasquez | RHP | Luke Weaver | ||
| (3-4, 5.05 ERA) | (3-2, 4.91 ERA) | ||||
RHP Vince Velasquez, Age: 25
- Career vs. STL: 0-1, 7.50 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, 7 SO, 1.500 WHIP
- Career at Busch Stadium: N/A
Through four starts on the road this season (20 1/3 innings), Velasquez is 1-2 with a 3.98 ERA. Spanning four home starts (20 2/3 innings), however, the right-hander is 2-2 with a 6.10 ERA. Velasquez has won each of his last two starts, including a 12-strikeout performance in his most recent outing against the San Francisco Giants on May 10.
RHP Luke Weaver, Age: 24
- Career vs. PHI: 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 6 SO, 1.800 WHIP
- Career at Busch Stadium: 4-2, 4.94 ERA, 14 G, 11 GS, 62 IP, 58 H, 35 R, 34 ER, 7 HR, 22 BB, 66 SO, 1.290 WHIP
Each of Weaver's three home starts this season have resulted in no-decisions, allowing a combined nine runs on 11 hits, eight walks and 13 strikeouts through 15 innings. Weaver has not tossed more than 5 1/3 innings in five straight starts, allowing four or more runs in four of the contests.
The right-hander's first and only career appearance against the Phillies came as a rookie in Philadelphia on August 20, 2016 — his second career appearance overall. Hernandez hit a leadoff home run in the first and later doubled off Weaver. Franco also hit a two-bagger opposite Weaver while batting in the cleanup position.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (24-16) | St. Louis Cardinals (23-17) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | CF | Tommy Pham | R |
| 2 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R | 2 | 1B | Jose Martinez | R |
| 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 3 | SS | Paul DeJong | R |
| 4 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R | 4 | LF | Marcell Ozuna | R |
| 5 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S | 5 | RF | Dexter Fowler | S |
| 6 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 6 | 3B | Jedd Gyorko | R |
| 7 | SS | Scott Kingery | R | 7 | 2B | Matt Carpenter | L |
| 8 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R | 8 | C | Francisco Pena | R |
| 9 | P | Vince Velasquez | R | 9 | P | Luke Weaver | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:15 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- The Phillies are 16-2 (.889) against non-NL East opponents, the best winning percentage among all MLB teams against teams not in their division. Manager Gabe Kapler's squad is just 8-14 (.364) against opponents within their division, however.
- In the month of May, Phillies starters have given up the fewest hits (49) and runs (15) in all of baseball. At the plate, the Phillies have the second-highest May batting average in the NL (.265), trailing only the San Francisco Giants (.291).
- Since May 5, Phillies starting pitchers have allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine straight starts, while posting a 1.29 ERA (8 ER, 56 IP).
- Odubel Herrera extended his on-base streak to 42 games with a two-out single in the top of the first on Wednesday. Herrera is just fourth Phillies player ever to reach base in 42 or more straight games, joining Mike Schmidt (56 games), Chuck Klein (49 and 44) and Bobby Abreu (48).
- The Phillies have lost six of their last seven games against the Cardinals, and nine of their last 11. Over this 11-game stretch, the Phillies have been outscored 56-30 and outhit 100-96. The club has also fallen in five straight games at Busch Stadium.
- In 12 career at-bats against Velasquez, Cardinals left fielder Marcell Ozuna has two singles, a solo home run and two walks. Hernandez and Franco, meanwhile, are a combined 5-6 against Weaver with two singles, two doubles, one home run and two RBI.
What's Next:
Friday, May 18, 2018: at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 p.m.
- Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Mo.
- RHP Jake Arrieta (3-1, 2.59 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (4-1, 3.09 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
