After losing two out of three to fellow NL East bottom-feeder Atlanta, the Phillies turn their attention the the Chicago Cubs, who currently sit in the second wild card spot, three games back of NL Central rival, Pittsburgh. The last time these two teams met, it was Cole Hamels' final game in a Phillies uniform and he went out memorably, hurling a no-hitter at historic Wrigley Field. It was the first time the Cubs had been no-hit in 7,921 games, the longest streak in Major League Baseball. That game was also when one of today's Cubs starters, Jake Arrieta, suffered his last loss.
The Phillies and Cubs will play a single admission double-header tonight after getting rained out on Thursday.
Game One Starting Pitching Match-up:
| Chicago Cubs (80-58) | Philadelphia Phillies (54-86) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Jake Arrieta | LHP | Adam Morgan | ||
| 18-6, 2.03 ERA | 5-5, 4.42 ERA | ||||
Rookie starter Adam Morgan will take the mound in game one against the Cubs, a team he hasn't faced before in his first big league season. In his last start, Morgan's stat line didn't reflect his whole performance as the 25-year-old southpaw showed extremely good fastball command throughout the game. Unfortunately, things unraveled late and he ended up allowing six runs in 6 1/3 innings during the Phillies loss to the Red Sox. Left-handed hitters are averaging just .213 off of Morgan while righties are batting .281. Morgan has allowed three runs or less in four of his last seven starts while only walking six in that span.
Meanwhile, Jake Arrieta ended up on the other side of Cole Hamels no-hitter back on July 25th, but still pitched a strong game, allowing three runs in six innings of work in Chicago's 5-0 loss. He struck out eight Phillies hitters. Since then, Arrieta has thrown a no-hitter of his own and has been just down-right dominant for the resurgent Cubs. The Chicago right-hander has allowed no runs in five of his last seven starts, most recently against the Diamondbacks on September 5th. He struck out seven and scattered four hits over eight shutout innings. His no-hitter came in the start prior, against former Phillies Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and the Dodgers. Arrieta fanned 12 and walked one to cap off his no-no. While he's been extremely effective overall this season, he has been more successful on the road, posting an 11-1 record to go with a 1.76 ERA in 15 starts. September and October are his best months during his career, posting a 9-1 record and a 2.61 ERA in 19 games. In four career starts against the Phillies, Arrieta is 2-2 with a 4.94 ERA. Ryan Howard is 1-for-5 against Arrieta with a homer and three RBI's. Odubel Herrera has a double in three at-bats against him.
Game Two Starting Pitching Match-up:
| Chicago Cubs | Philadelphia Phillies | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Jake Arrieta | RHP | Alec Asher | ||
| 6-6, 4.08 ERA | 0-2, 10.61 | ||||
In game two, the Phillies will look to Alec Asher, who is looking for his first big league victory after two rough starts to begin his Major League career. After being dealt to the Phillies in the Cole Hamels trade, Asher allowed just six earned runs in 26 innings, spanning four starts, for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He made his big league debut on August 30th against San Diego and surrendered four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking one. His most recent outing, against the Red Sox, was worse. Asher lasted just 3 2/3 innings after allowing seven runs on eight hits in the Phillies loss.
Chicago tabs Kyle Hendricks as their game two starter. The 25-year-old right-hander is coming off a start in which he allowed just one run on three hits over five innings of work against Arizona. Hendricks has never faced the Phillies before.
| Chicago Cubs (80-68) | Philadelphia Phillies (54-85) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Dexter Fowler | S | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | RF | Austin Jackson | R | 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 3 | LF | Kris Bryant | R |
3 |
CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 4 | 1B | Anthony Rizzo | L | 4 | RF | Jeff Francoeur | R |
| 5 | 2B | Starlin Castro | R | 5 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L |
| 6 | 3B | Javier Baez | R | 6 | LF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 7 | C | David Ross | R | 7 | 3B | Cody Asche | L |
| 8 | P | Jake Arrieta | R | 8 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R |
| 9 | SS | Addison Russell | R | 9 | P | Adam Morgan | R |
Game Notes:
- On Thursday, the Phillies announced that Ruben Amaro Jr. is officially out as general manager. Assistant general manager Scott Proefrock will take over on an interim basis.
- Jake Arrieta, the major league leader in wins who has yielded two earned runs, 23 hits, struck out 50 and walked 10 over 50 1/3 innings to win the last seven starts. The Cubs have won each of his last eight starts.
- Since being swept by the Phillies in July at Wrigley Field, the Cubs have posted a 29-12 record, propelling them into the second Wild Card spot in the National League.
- Over the last seven games, Ryan Howard is 0-for-27 at the plate. He hit a three-run home run off of Arrieta in the Phillies 5-0 no-hit victory earlier this season.
- Starlin Castro has a .355 average with a homer and 12 RBI in 16 career games at Citizens Bank Park.
- A win for Jake Arrieta tonight would make him the first Cubs pitcher in 43 years to win eight consecutive starts.
- After Wednesday's loss and the Mets win, the Phillies are officially eliminated from playoff contention.
- The Phillies have lost 12 of their last 16 games.
- The Phillies Advanced 'A' affiliate in Clearwater was eliminated from the playoffs Wednesday after a 2-1 loss. The Threshers had won the Florida State League North division first and second half titles.
- Double-A Reading scored four runs in the first inning on Wednesday en route to a game one victory over Binghamton in the Eastern League Division Series. League MVP Brock Stassi drove in four runs to lead Reading's offense. They will play game two tonight in Binghamton after getting washed out on Thursday.
- Short Season Williamsport lost game one of their three-game playoff series to West Virginia on Thursday, 2-1. The series shifts to Williamsport tonight with top prospect Franlyn Kilome getting the start.
Broadcast Information:
Gametime: 5:05pm EST
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Weather: 82 degrees, light rain , 61% chance of rain
TV: CSN
Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
