By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies (22-44) will look to avoid their 16th series defeat of the season as RHP Jerad Eickhoff opposes RHP Zack Godley and the Arizona Diamondbacks (42-26) — who are tied for the third-best winning percentage (.618) — Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Phillies RHP Aaron Nola fell to 3-5 on the season in Friday evening's 5-4 series opener defeat. Center fielder Odubel Herrera led the way for the Phillies in the hit column with two, including a fourth-inning triple, his first this season and 10th overall for his career.
The Diamondbacks have won five straight games, while the Phillies have dropped nine of their last 10. Manager Pete Mackanin's club has a 2 1/2 game lead in having the worst record in baseball.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Arizona Diamondbacks (42-26) | Philadelphia Phillies (22-44) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Zack Godley | RHP | Jerad Eickhoff | ||
| (2-1, 2.44 ERA) | (0-7, 5.09 ERA) | ||||
Godley Career vs. PHI: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 0 GS, 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0.000 WHIP
Godley, 27, has just one career appearance against the Phillies — a 1-2-3 eighth inning relief appearance on 11 pitches and seven strikes in the Diamondbacks' 10-2 victory exactly one year ago, June 17, 2016.
The Bamberg, South Carolina native will make his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Reno on June 6 and eighth start overall this season. Godley is thought to be the replacement in the rotation of RHP Randall Delgado, who heads back to the bullpen.
In 44 1/3 innings this season, the right-hander has a 36-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio, allowing just nine extra-base hits — six doubles and three home runs — against 170 combined batters.
Eickhoff Career vs. ARI: 0-1, 4.22 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 10 2/3 IP, 16 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 HR, 4 BB, 12 SO, 1.875 WHIP
Eickhoff, 26, is winless through 13 starts — the longest stretch to start a season by a Phillie since southpaw Cliff Lee in 2012. With his no-decision against the Boston Red Sox on June 12 at Fenway Park, the right-hander is coming off of his fifth quality start and his first since May 16.
Both of Eickhoff's two career starts against Arizona occurred last June 18 at home and June 28 away. He failed to toss at least six innings in both of the outings, despite tossing 203 combined pitches.
The Evansville, Indiana native has a 6.12 ERA and 20/9 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last five starts (25 innings).
Starting Lineups:
| Arizona Diamondbacks (42-26) | Philadelphia Phillies (22-44) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | LF | Daniel Descalso | L | 1 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 2 | RF | David Peralta | L | 2 | 2B | Howie Kendrick | R |
| 3 | 1B | Paul Goldschmidt | R | 3 | LF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 4 | 3B | Jake Lamb | L | 4 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R |
| 5 | SS | Chris Owings | R | 5 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 6 | 2B | Brandon Drury | R | 6 | RF | Michael Saunders | L |
| 7 | C | Chris Iannetta | R | 7 | C | Andrew Knapp | S |
| 8 | CF | Rey Fuentes | L | 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 9 | P | Zack Godley | R | 9 | P | Jerad Eickhoff | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 4:05 p.m.
- TV: TCN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
NL East Standings (entering June 17, 2017):
| W | L | GB | L10 | Streak | Home | Road | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Nationals | 41 | 26 | — | 4-6 | W2 | 18-14 | 23-12 |
| Miami Marlins | 30 | 35 | 10.0 | 6-4 | W3 | 16-16 | 14-19 |
| New York Mets | 30 | 36 | 10.5 | 6-4 | L2 | 16-22 | 14-14 |
| Atlanta Braves | 29 | 37 | 11.5 | 5-5 | L1 | 13-18 | 16-19 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 22 | 44 | 18.5 | 1-9 | L1 | 13-16 | 9-28 |
Game Notes:
- Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph has hit safely in a career-best 12 straight games. Joseph is batting 10-28 (.357) over his last seven games with two runs, three doubles, three RBIs and two walks.
- The Phillies have lost each of their last five home games against the Diamondbacks, outscored 27-9 and outhit 56-25.
- Lifetime against Godley, current Phillies are batting a combined .200/.429/.200 through 10 at-bats with just two singles, four walks and three strikeouts. Meanwhile, current Diamondbacks are batting .333/.421/.788 lifetime against Eickhoff with five singles, one double, one triple, four home runs, seven RBIs, three walks and six strikeouts in 33 combined at-bats.
What's Next:
- Sunday, June 18, 2017: vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 1:35 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- LHP Robbie Ray (7-3, 2.62 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Lively (1-1, 3.00 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
