Coming off of last night's 13-3 defeat to right hander Rubby De La Rosa and the Arizona Diamondbacks (55-56), the Philadelphia Phillies (45-68) will look to avoid losing just their second series since the All-Star break tonight at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (45-68) | Arizona Diamondbacks (55-56) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | David Buchanan | RHP | Jeremy Hellickson | ||
| (2-6, 7.23 ERA) | (7-8, 5.06 ERA) | ||||
Buchanan, 26, and Hellickson, 28, have never faced the Diamondbacks and Phillies respectively.
Both starting pitchers have allowed a combined 10 earned runs over their past two starts. Buchanan has thrown 11 and one-third innings over this stretch with 18 hits, one walk, and three home runs allowed. Hellickson on the other hand, has lasted just eight innings, giving up 12 hits, six walks and four home runs.
The Phillies' right hander's last start on the west coast was amongst the best outings of his career. On July 11 at San Francisco, he gave up just one run on eight hits, over five innings of work.
Tonight will be Buchanan's third start since being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on July 31 to replace left hander Cole Hamels in the starting rotation.
Hellickson was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on November 14 in exchange for minor league infielder Andrew Velazquez, 21, and minor league outfielder Justin Williams, 19. The right hander was 40-36 with a 3.78 ERA over five seasons, 115 games and 108 starts for the Rays, dating back to his major league debut nearly five years ago: August 2, 2010.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (45-68) | Arizona Diamondbacks (55-56) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Chase Utley | L | 1 | CF | A.J. Pollock | R |
| 2 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 2 | 3B | Jake Lamb | L |
| 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | 1B | Paul Goldschmidt | R |
| 4 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L | 4 | LF | David Peralta | L |
| 5 | RF | Jeff Francoeur | R | 5 | RF | Yasmany Tomas | R |
| 6 | LF | Darin Ruf | R | 6 | C | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | S |
| 7 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 7 | 2B | Aaron Hill | R |
| 8 | C | Cameron Rupp | R | 8 | SS | Chris Owings | R |
| 9 | P | David Buchanan | R | 9 | P | Jeremy Hellickson | R |
Outfielder Domonic Brown was expected to start in right field tonight, batting sixth, however he was scratched with a stomach illness.
Game Notes:
- Since returning from the disabled list on August 7 at San Diego, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is batting .385/.357/.615 with three runs scored, two singles, three doubles, and three runs-batted-in over four games and 14 plate appearances.
- Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera currently has the second-longest active hitting streak in baseball, 13.
- The Phillies are 26-32 all-time at Chase Field. They are 6-4 over the last ten games at the venue, outscoring and outhitting the D-Backs 40-38 and 103-82 respectively.
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 9:40 pm EST
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
What's Next:
- Wednesday, August 12, 2015: at Arizona Diamondbacks, 3:40 pm
- RHP Aaron Nola (2-1, 3.65 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Anderson (5-4, 4.10 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
