By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
With right-hander Nick Pivetta slated as the starting pitcher, the Philadelphia Phillies (1-5) will take on the New York Yankees (5-1) and veteran southpaw CC Sabathia Thursday afternoon at Spectrum Field.
The Phillies and Yankees have met twice so far this spring, both resulting in defeats for rookie manager Gabe Kapler‘s squad — 8-3 at home last Sunday, and 4-3 away last Monday. The Yankees have out-hit the Phillies 18-13 in these matchups.
The Phillies’ lineup will feature two switch-hitters at the top of their lineup, second baseman Cesar Hernandez and first baseman Carlos Santana. Non-roster invitees Ryan Flaherty will bat seventh as the starting third baseman, while right fielder Danny Ortiz will bat ninth. Both have just one hit this spring through seven at-bats, a single and home run, respectively.
Both clubs will next meet for the fourth and final time this spring in Tampa on March 8, ahead of their June 25-27 regular season series at Citizens Bank Park. As the calendar turns to March, just four weeks remain until the Phillies take on the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day at SunTrust Park.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| New York Yankees (5-1) | Philadelphia Phillies (1-5) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | CC Sabathia | RHP | Nick Pivetta | ||
| (2017: 14-5, 3.69 ERA) | (0-1, 9.00 ERA) | ||||
Sabathia, 37, prepares for his 10th season with the Yankees and his 18th big-league season overall. The six-time All-Star and 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner rebounded nicely in 2017 with a .737 winning percentage in 27 starts. Sabathia had a sub-.500 winning percentage in each of his three seasons prior, including an injury-riddled 2014 season that limited him to just eight starts due to an inflamed right knee.
The veteran southpaw produced 12 quality starts in 2017 and allowed three runs or less in 18 of his 27 outings. The Vallejo, California native allowed five runs spanning 19 postseason innings (four starts) for the Yankees last season, two against the Cleveland Indians in the Division Series and two against the Houston Astros in the Championship Series.
The Yankees and Sabathia finalized a one-year, $10 million deal on Dec. 26. The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim also showed reported interest in the left-hander this offseason.
Pivetta, 25, will make his second outing this spring. Staring in the Phillies’ Grapefruit League opener last Friday, Pivetta allowed two runs, both earned, on four hits, a walk and a surrendered home run to leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson spanning two innings. Pivetta struck out two Blue Jays batters, outfielders Teoscar Hernandez and Anthony Alford.
Starting Lineups:
| New York Yankees (5-1) | Philadelphia Phillies (1-5) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Jacoby Ellsbury | L | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | 3B | Brandon Drury | R | 2 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S |
| 3 | LF | Aaron Hicks | S | 3 | CF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 4 | DH | Miguel Andujar | R | 4 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 5 | SS | Danny Espinosa* | S | 5 | SS | J.P. Crawford | L |
| 6 | 1B | Tyler Austin | R | 6 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R |
| 7 | C | Austin Romine | R | 7 | 3B | Ryan Flaherty* | L |
| 8 | 2B | Jace Peterson* | L | 8 | DH | Tommy Joseph | R |
| 9 | RF | Jake Cave | L | 9 | RF | Danny Oritz* | L |
* non-roster invitee
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP+, MLBN
- Radio: N/A
Game Notes:
- Following Pivetta on the mound for the Phillies on Thursday will be right-handers Zach Eflin, Pat Neshek, Francisco Rodriguez, Victor Arano and Pedro Beato, according to The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro.
- Roman Quinn will enter the game at shortstop “around the sixth inning,” Montemurro adds. Quinn was seen taking grounders at the position during batting practice Thursday morning.
- The Yankees are tied with the Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers for the third-best winning percentage this spring, .833. Only the Kansas City Royals (4-0, 1.000) and Boston Red Sox (6-1, .857) have performed better. Meanwhile, the Phillies’ .167 winning percentage is the second-worst, also tying with the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles.
- The Phillies are coming off of a 7-1 defeat against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, their fourth straight loss. Non-roster invitee infielder Scott Kingery homered in the top of the third, his second of the spring.
- Starting for the Yankees batting the clean-up position is Miguel Andujar. Andujar went 2-2 with a run scored, double, home run and two RBIs against the Phillies on Feb. 26. He is batting .400/.400/1.100 spanning 10 at-bats this spring.
- Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier is still out after being diagnosed with a concussion after making a leaping catch last weekend. He took 25 swings on Wednesday, just one day after feeling “fogginess” in the batting cages. Frazier poses to be the corner outfield backup to Brett Gardner in left and Aaron Judge in right.
- According to SportsBusiness Daily’s Austin Karp, the Sunday meeting between the Phillies and Yankees was MLB Network’s “most-watched spring training game ever,” with 313,000 viewers.
What’s Next:
- Friday, March 2, 2018: at Tampa Bay Rays, 1:05 p.m.
- Charlotte Sports Park, Port Charlotte, Fla.
- RHP Aaron Nola (0-1, 13.50 ERA) vs. LHP Blake Snell (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
- TV: N/A; Radio: MLB.com
