Phillies aim for sweep, .500 record as Arrieta debuts against Marlins

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

After outscoring their opposition 25-1 through the first two games of the series, the Philadelphia Phillies (3-4) will look for their first winning sweep of the season Sunday afternoon as RHP Jake Arrieta makes his highly-anticipated club debut. The Miami Marlins (2-6) will send rookie RHP Trevor Richards to the mound opposite the former Cy Young and Silver Slugger awards winner.

The Phillies entered Saturday's matchup having scored 19 runs through their first six games. They more than doubled their total season run output in the 20-1 win, in part thanks to two grand slams from Maikel Franco and Aaron Altherr. Carlos Santana and Jorge Alfaro also homered. Santana's three-run shot was concurrently his 1,000th career hit. The game was the biggest lost — by margin — in Marlins franchise history, per the Miami Herald's Clark Spencer.

The Phillies have won eight of their last nine games against the Marlins since August 31, 2017.

Starting Pitching Matchup:

RHP Trevor Richards, Age: 24

• Career vs. PHI: N/A
• Career at Citizens Bank Park: N/A

Richards will make his second career start and his first against the Phillies. The No. 22-ranked Marlins prospect tossed 4 1/3 innings and suffered the losing decision in his big league debut against the Boston Red Sox on Monday, April 2. In the defeat, Richards punched out five batters and allowed five runs — all earned — on eight hits and a walk. Hanley Ramirez drove a two-run shot off Richards' curveball, with the count at 1-1 with one out in the fifth.

RHP Jake Arrieta, Age: 32

• Career vs. MIA: 3-0, 1.38 ERA, 4 G, 4 GS, 26 IP, 16 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 26 SO, 0.769 WHIP
• Career at Citizens Bank Park: 2-0, 0.60 ERA, 2 G 2 GS, 15 IP, 8 H, R, ER, HR, 3 BB, 16 SO, 0.733 WHIP

Arrieta will take the mound for his first start donning a Phillies uniform, six days after throwing 66 pitches in a simulated game in Clearwater, Florida. The right-hander has a career 3.28 ERA in day games (464 1/3 innings, 1.141 WHIP) as opposed to a 3.77 career ERA at night (696 2/3 innings, 1.187 WHIP).

Starting Lineups:

Broadcast Information:

• First pitch: 1:35 p.m.
• TV: NBCSP+
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP

Game Notes:

• Franco is tied with Atlanta Braves 1B Freddie Freeman and Pittsburgh Pirates RF Gregory Polanco for the MLB lead in RBI, 11. Franco has 10 RBI over his last two games while batting .625/.667/1.750. Phillies 1B/LF Rhys Hoskins is tied with Washington Nationals CF Adam Eaton for the highest National League batting average, .435. Franco collected a career-high six RBI on Saturday.
• The Athletic's Jayson Stark: Jake Thompson is the first National League pitcher to save a game his team won by 19 or more runs since the Cincinnati Reds' Stan Belinda against the Phillies in a 22-3 game on Sept. 4, 1999. The last overall such save was on August 22, 2007, by Wes Littleton of the Texas Rangers. Thompson was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following the game to make room for Arrieta on the 25-man roster.
• According to Sports Insights, since 2005, teams are 12-16 after after scoring 20 or more runs during their previous game and are 16-12 after allowing 20 or more runs during their previous game.
• The Phillies hit two grand slams before the fourth inning for the first time in franchise history, per 6abc's Jeff Skversky. They hit two grand slams in the same game for the first time since April 2009 (Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez). The club had 11 different players with at least one hit and one run, the first time a National League team accomplished such feat since July 2010.

What's Next:

• Monday, April 9, 2018: vs. Cincinnati Reds, 7:05 p.m.
  • Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
  • LHP Cody Reed (2017: 1-1, 5.09 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Lively (0-1, 3.18 ERA)
  • TV: NBCSP+; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP