By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
After a Tuesday afternoon rainout against the Yankees, the Phillies (14-10) close up their Florida Spring Training slate today at Bright House Field against the Houston Astros (17-9).
The Phils have made a number of roster cuts over the past few days, making the Opening Day roster picture a bit clearer. Most notably, Philadelphia added veteran outfielder Will Venable to the mix. The 33-year-old can play all three outfield positions and is more than likely going to break camp with the team. In addition to Venable, it will be either Emmanuel Burriss or Cedric Hunter that makes the club come Opening Day.
This afternoon, Phillies number one starter Jeremy Hellickson will get his final start of the spring, looking to rebound from a rough outing. He'll face Astros ace Dallas Keuchel.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Houston Astros (17-9) | Philadelphia Phillies (14-10) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Dallas Keuchel | RHP | Jeremy Hellickson | ||
| (1-0, 0.00 ERA) | (0-0, 2.31 ERA) | ||||
Hellickson will start Opening Day at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati for the Phillies on April 3rd, with Aaron Nola set to follow him in game two. Hellickson has started three games for the Phils this spring, posting a 2.31 ERA. He faced the Astros back on March 20th, his best outing of the spring, and spun five hitless innings, walking three and striking out five. Last time out, he faced the Blue Jays and allowed two runs on four hits in 4.2 innings of work. In 11.2 innings total this spring, Hellickson has surrendered just three earned runs while striking out 15 and walking six.
The Phillies will have their work cut out for them this afternoon as they square off against Astros ace and 2015 Cy Young Award Winner, Dallas Keuchel. The 28-year-old southpaw went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA in 33 starts last season, spanning 232 innings on the mound. He's tossed 10 innings so far in Spring Training, scattering just five hits while striking out 10 and walking two. In his last outing, he allowed no runs on three hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
Starting Lineups:
| Houston Astros (17-9) | Philadelphia Phillies (14-10) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Jose Altuve | R | 1 | CF | Peter Bourjos | R |
| 2 | RF | George Springer | R | 2 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 3 | DH | Carlos Correa | R | 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 4 | LF | Colby Rasmus | L | 4 | 1B | Darin Ruf | R |
| 5 | CF | Carlos Gomez | R | 5 | C | Cameron Rupp | R |
| 6 | 3B | Luiz Valbuena | L | 6 | SS | Andres Blanco | S |
| 7 | SS | Marwin Gonzalez | S | 7 | LF | Tyler Goeddel | R |
| 8 | 1B | Matt Duffy | R | 8 | RF | Will Venable | L |
| 9 | C | Jason Castro | L | 9 | P | Jeremy Hellickson | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
- TV: TCN, MLB.TV
- Radio: MLB.com
What's Next:
- Thursday, March 31st, 2016: vs. Phillies Futures Team at 6:05pm
- Reading, PA – FirstEnergy Stadium
- TV: TCN, MLB.TV, MLB TV; Radio: 94 WIP
