By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
After dropping their eighth straight home game to the Arizona Diamondbacks (16-6), the Philadelphia Phillies (14-8) will look again to snap such skid Wednesday evening in the second of the three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies fell 8-4 in the series opener behind Vince Velasquez, who surrendered four runs and two home runs on four hits and two walks through 4 2/3 innings. Odubel Herrera extended his on-base streak to 24 straight games, as he was hit by a pitch in a sixth-inning pinch-hit appearance. Aaron Altherr drove in two runs via a double, while Maikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez added another run each with a respective sacrifice fly RBI and RBI single. Phillies batters struck out 16 times, while their pitching combined to allow three home runs in the rain-soaking loss.
Wednesday evening's game will feature a duel of aces in Jake Arrieta and Zack Greinke. Combined between the two pitchers are two Cy Young awards, five All-Star appearances, four Gold Glove awards and two Silver Slugger awards, not to mention Arrieta's 2016 World Series championship with the Chicago Cubs.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Arizona Diamondbacks (16-6) | Philadelphia Phillies (14-8) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Zack Greinke | RHP | Jake Arrieta | ||
| (2-1, 4.13 ERA) | (2-0, 2.04 ERA) | ||||
RHP Zack Greinke, Age: 34
- Career vs. PHI: 8-1, 2.48 ERA, 11 G, 10 GS, 65 1/3 IP, 46 H, 19 R, 18 ER, 7 HR, 13 BB, 64 SO, 0.903 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 3-1, 2.62 ERA, 5 G, 5 GS, 34 1/3 IP, 20 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 4 HR, 8 BB, 28 SO, 0.816 WHIP
Greinke has only suffered one loss through 11 career appearances, 10 starts and 65 1/3 innings at Citizens Bank Park. This season, the right-hander has won each of his last two starts against National League West opponents in the Los Angeles Dodgers (April 13) and San Francisco Giants (April 19).
RHP Jake Arrieta, Age: 32
- Career vs. ARI: 3-3, 2.76 ERA, 7 G, 7 GS, 45 2/3 IP, 38 H, 18 R, 14 ER, 3 HR, 11 BB, 54 SO, 1.073 WHIP
- Career at Citizens Bank Park: 3-0, 1.04 ERA, 4 G, 4 GS, 26 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 7 BB, 31 SO, 0.731 WHIP
Arrieta is coming off of a seven-inning, one-hit allowed performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 19, his second victory in a Phillies uniform in as many decisions. Arrieta has yet to allow a stolen base this season and has yielded only one home run, which occurred during his club and season debut on April 8 against the Miami Marlins. The right-hander has allowed two walks in each of his three appearances this season.
Starting Lineups:
| Arizona Diamondbacks (16-6) | Philadelphia Phillies (14-8) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | LF | David Peralta | L | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | SS | Ketel Marte | S | 2 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S |
| 3 | 1B | Paul Goldschmidt | R | 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 4 | CF | A.J. Pollock | R | 4 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 5 | 3B | Daniel Descalso | L | 5 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 6 | 2B | Chris Owings | R | 6 | C | Andrew Knapp | S |
| 7 | RF | Jarrod Dyson | L | 7 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 8 | C | Jeff Mathis | R | 8 | SS | J.P. Crawford | L |
| 9 | P | Zack Greinke | R | 9 | P | Jake Arrieta | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Rhys Hoskins has reached base safely in 45 of his 91 plate appearances this season, good for a MLB-best .495 on-base percentage. He reached base in three of his four appearances in the series opener: strikeout, walk, single, walk.
- Had the Phillies won the series opener, it would have been the first time in the club’s 136-year history it had won 10 of its first 11 home games.
- Herrera is 3-10 all-time against Greinke with a solo home run and three strikeouts. Franco and Hernandez, however, are a combined 3-18 against the right-hander with two walks and five strikeouts.
What's Next:
- Thursday, April 26, 2018: vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 1:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- RHP Matt Koch (0-0, 1.13 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Lively (0-1, 4.64 ERA)
- TV: Facebook Watch; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
