By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies (16-30) will look to avoid their ninth consecutive series defeat in a Saturday matinee against the Cincinnati Reds (23-24) and 16-year veteran RHP Bronson Arroyo at Citizens Bank Park.
Making his 10th start, Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff will be in search of his first win of the season.
The Phillies fell 5-2 in the series opener on Friday as opposing pitcher RHP Tim Adleman tossed eight shutout innings with just one hit and two walks allowed. Phillies starter RHP Aaron Nola fell to 2-2, allowing a pair of solo home runs to outfielders Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Cincinnati Reds (23-24) | Philadelphia Phillies (16-30) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Bronson Arroyo | RHP | Jerad Eickhoff | ||
| (3-4, 6.75 ERA) | (0-5, 4.70 ERA) | ||||
Arroyo Career vs. PHI: 4-7, 5.14 ERA, 14 G, 13 GS, 77 IP, 83 H, 50 R, 44 ER, 14 HR, 20 BB, 47 SO, 1.338 WHIP
Arroyo, 40, is in the midst of his first Major League action since 2014. In nine starts and 46 2/3 innings this season, the Key West, Florida native has allowed 36 runs (35 earned) on 54 hits, 15 home runs, 15 walks and 30 strikeouts. The right-hander has surrendered nine home runs through four May starts.
Eickhoff Career vs. CIN: 0-1, 2.70 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, HR, BB, 6 SO, 0.900 WHIP
Eickhoff, 26, has thrown 11 starts since his last victory on Sept. 21, 2016. In his most recent outing against the Rockies on May 22, the right-hander allowed four runs on nine hits, no walks and four strikeouts through six innings.
Starting Lineups:
| Cincinnati Reds (23-24) | Philadelphia Phillies (16-30) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Billy Hamilton | S | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | SS | Zack Cozart | R | 2 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 3 | 1B | Joey Votto | L | 3 | LF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 4 | LF | Adam Duvall | R | 4 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R |
| 5 | 3B | Eugenio Suarez | R | 5 | RF | Michael Saunders | L |
| 6 | RF | Scott Schebler | L | 6 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 7 | 2B | Scooter Gennett | L | 7 | C | Cameron Rupp | R |
| 8 | C | Tucker Barnhart | S | 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 9 | P | Bronson Arroyo | R | 9 | P | Jerad Eickhoff | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 4:05 p.m.
- TV: TCN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr (1.024) and first baseman Tommy Joseph (1.016) rank 15th and 16th respectively among all qualified batters in OPS during the month of May. They look to become the first Phillies duo to post an OPS greater than 1.000 in a calendar month since Raul Ibanez (1.151) and Chase Utley (1.105) in April of 2009.
- The Phillies have won eight games during the day and eight at night this season, but have fallen in 10 and 20 such contests respectively. They are 3-4 in games played on Saturdays.
- The only two active members of the Phillies to have previously faced Arroyo in their careers are infielders Andres Blanco (1-3) and Freddy Galvis (1-7). Cincinnati's Scooter Gennett and Joey Votto have each previously gone yard against Eickhoff.
NL East Standings (entering May 27, 2017)
| W | L | GB | L10 | Streak | Home | Road | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Nationals | 29 | 18 | — | 5-5 | W1 | 15-8 | 14-10 |
| Atlanta Braves | 21 | 25 | 7.5 | 6-4 | W1 | 10-12 | 11-13 |
| New York Mets | 20 | 26 | 8.5 | 4-6 | W1 | 11-15 | 9-11 |
| Miami Marlins | 17 | 29 | 11.5 | 3-7 | W1 | 7-14 | 10-15 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 16 | 30 | 12.5 | 2-8 | L1 | 9-12 | 7-18 |
What's Next:
- Sunday, May 28, 2017: vs. Cincinnati Reds, 1:35 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Scott Feldman (3-4, 3.99 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Eflin (0-2, 5.36 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
