By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies (15-9) will begin the third and final series of their 10-game homestand, as they begin their third series of the season against the Atlanta Braves (14-10) Friday evening at Citizens Bank Park.
Aaron Nola and Julio Teheran will face off for the third time in 2018. The Phillies fell in both of the SunTrust Park meetings, 8-5 on Opening Day and 2-1 on April 16.
Just one game separates the Phillies and Braves in the National League East standings. The Phillies trail the division-leading New York Mets — who begin a road series Friday against the San Diego Padres — by a 1/2 game.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Atlanta Braves (14-10) | Philadelphia Phillies (15-9) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Julio Teheran | RHP | Aaron Nola | ||
| (1-1, 4.00 ERA) | (2-1, 2.30 ERA) | ||||
RHP Julio Teheran, Age: 27
- Career vs. PHI: 9-6, 3.43 ERA, 21 G, 20 GS, 128 2/3 IP, 115 H, 55 R, 49 ER, 12 HR, 31 BB, 108 SO, 1.135 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 6-2, 2.77 ERA, 8 G, 8 GS, 52 IP, 42 H, 17 R, 16 ER, 4 HR, 9 BB, 45 SO, 0.981 WHIP
Teheran has allowed the most walks among all qualified National League East pitchers, 14, and is tied for allowing the fourth-most walks in the National League. The right-hander has won six of his eight career starts at Citizens Bank Park.
RHP Aaron Nola, Age: 24
- Career vs. ATL: 5-2, 2.04 ERA, 9 G, 9 GS, 57 1/3 IP, 48 H, 16 R, 13 ER, 3 HR, 12 BB, 42 SO, 1.047 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 16-12, 3.40 ERA, 31 G, 31 GS, 195 2/3 IP, 167 H, 80 R, 74 ER, 28 HR, 50 BB, 223 SO, 1.109 WHIP
Nola has the sixth-best WHIP among qualified National League pitchers, 0.926. Teheran, meanwhile, has the 12th-worst. The Phillies right-hander has surrendered just one double and no triples this season, while allowing only a pair of home runs — neither of which were against the Braves through two outings.
Starting Lineups:
| Atlanta Braves (14-10) | Philadelphia Phillies (15-9) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Ender Inciarte | L | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | 2B | Ozzie Albies | S | 2 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S |
| 3 | 1B | Freddie Freeman | L | 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 4 | RF | Nick Markakis | L | 4 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 5 | C | Kurt Suzuki | R | 5 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 6 | LF | Ronald Acuna Jr. | R | 6 | 3B | Scott Kingery | R |
| 7 | SS | Dansby Swanson | R | 7 | SS | J.P. Crawford | L |
| 8 | 3B | Ryan Flaherty | L | 8 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R |
| 9 | P | Julio Teheran | R | 9 | P | Aaron Nola | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP+
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Roster Moves: Early Friday afternoon, the Phillies announced that they have promoted No. 12-ranked club prospect RHP Seranthony Dominguez to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Dominguez had 18 strikeouts and just two walks in 13 innings with Double-A Reading. Ben Lively was placed on the disabled list with a lower back strain, with Jake Thompson earning the recall from Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move.
- According to MLB.com's Richard Justice, the Phillies have both the third-highest walk rate (11.4 percent) and the third-highest strikeout rate (26.6 percent).
- The Phillies are 2-4 against the Braves this season, with all six meetings occurring on the road at SunTrust Park. Gabe Kapler's club has been outscored 37-21 in these contests. The Phillies were 8-2 against the Braves at home last season.
- Active Phillies hit streaks: Odubel Herrera (9), Rhys Hoskins (5), Aaron Altherr (5)
- Cesar Hernandez has hit safely in six of his last seven games, batting .393/.438/.464 with five runs scored, nine singles, two doubles, five RBI, three walks and six strikeouts in 32 plate appearances. Hernandez has reached base safely in 20 of his 24 games in 2018. Herrera, meanwhile, has reached base safely in a career-best 26 straight games since Sept. 27, 2017.
- Herrera will look to extend his hit streak to double-digits against Teheran. In 30 career at-bats against the right-hander, Herrera has seven hits — two being home runs — and four RBI.
What's Next:
- Saturday, April 28, 2018: vs. Atlanta Braves, 6:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- RHP Mike Foltynewicz (1-1, 2.77 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (1-0, 2.57 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP, MLBN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
