By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Coming off of their 8-run, 14-hit offensive outburst in Dunedin, the Philadelphia Phillies (7-7-2) will return home Sunday afternoon as RHP Aaron Nola opposes southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez and the Boston Red Sox (7-8).
The Phillies' 8-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday snapped their three-game skid. Non-roster invitees — shortstop J.P. Crawford and outfielder Cameron Perkins — led the way with two RBIs each.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Boston Red Sox (7-8) | Philadelphia Phillies (7-7-2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Eduardo Rodriguez | RHP | Aaron Nola | ||
| (2016: 3-7, 4.71 ERA) | (2016: 6-9, 4.78 ERA) | ||||
Rodriguez, 23, is tied with seven other pitchers for the American League lead in wins, 2. Among those players is teammate and former Phillies right-hander, Kyle Kendrick.
The Venezuela native is making his way back from tweaking his right knee in December while pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League. Rodriguez is competing this spring with RHP Steven Wright and LHP Drew Pomeranz for one of the final two spots in the Red Sox' starting rotation.
Nola, 23, threw two scoreless frames in his spring debut against Toronto on March 2, but his most recent appearance on March 7 was a different story. In as many frames against the Detroit Tigers, Nola surrendered two runs on five hits and a walk.
The right-hander is expected to pitch "three-to-four innings," according to CSNPhilly.com.
Starting Lineups:
| Boston Red Sox (7-8) | Philadelphia Phillies (7-7-2) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Steve Selsky | R | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | SS | Josh Rutledge | R | 2 | DH | Howie Kendrick | R |
| 3 | 3B | Pablo Sandoval | S | 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 4 | DH | Allen Craig^ | R | 4 | RF | Michael Saunders | L |
| 5 | C | Blake Swihart | S | 5 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R |
| 6 | 1B | Matt Dominguez^ | R | 6 | LF | Daniel Nava^ | S |
| 7 | LF | Carlos Quentin# | R | 7 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 8 | RF | Junior Lake^ | R | 8 | C | Bryan Holaday | R |
| 9 | 2B | Mike Miller | R | 9 | CF | Roman Quinn | S |
^ non-roster invitee, # from minor-league camp
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:07 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Scheduled Phillies relievers: right-handers Ben Lively, Michael Mariot and Edubray Ramos.
- Left fielder Daniel Nava will face his former club from 2010-2015.
- Sunday will be the first of two meetings between the Phillies and Red Sox this spring, the other Saturday, March 25 at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers. The two teams will then meet during the regular season in a four-game home-and-home series from June 12-15.
- Phillies RHP Hector Neris threw 1 1/3 perfect innings in Team Dominican Republic's 7-5 victory over Team USA Saturday evening in the World Baseball Classic at Marlins Park. On 12 pitches, he retired second baseman Ian Kinsler (strikeout), center fielder Adam Jones (popout), left fielder Christian Yelich (groundout), and third baseman Nolan Arenado (groundout).
What's Next:
- Monday, March 13, 2017: at Baltimore Orioles, 1:05 p.m.
- Ed Smith Stadium (Sarasota)
- RHP Jeremy Hellickson (2016: 12-10, 3.71 ERA) vs. RHP Kevin Gausman (2016: 9-12, 3.61 ERA)
- TV: MLBN; Radio: 105.7 The Fan
