By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
PHILADELPHIA — With just 11 series left to play in the 2017 season — seven at home — the Philadelphia Phillies (46-80) will take on the reigning World Series champion Chicago Cubs (68-58) in the series opener Friday evening at Citizens Bank Park. Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff will oppose southpaw Jose Quintana.
Prior to the game, the Phillies announced that outfielder Daniel Nava — out since August 11 with a lower back strain — has been activated from the 10-day disabled list. In 72 games and 200 plate appearances, the 34-year-old is batting .298/.390/.427 with four home runs and 20 RBIs.
A series defeat against the Cubs would mark the Phillies' fifth consecutive losing season after finishing the 2012 campaign with an 81-81, third-place National League East finish.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Chicago Cubs (68-58) | Philadelphia Phillies (46-80) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Jose Quintana | RHP | Jerad Eickhoff | ||
| (8-10, 4.27 ERA) | (3-7, 4.46 ERA) | ||||
Quintana Career vs. PHI: 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 5 SO, 1.167 WHIP
After spending five-plus seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Quintana, 28, was dealt to the Cubs on July 13 in exchange for four minor-league players. Since switching over to the National League, the Colombia native is 4-2 with a 3.73 ERA in seven starts.
Quintana has not faced the Phillies since his first career appearance against them on July 14, 2013, at Citizens Bank Park. The 2016 American League All-Star would have suffered a losing decision had the White Sox not scored once in the top of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to even the contest at three. Center fielder John Mayberry Jr. would come away with a two-out walk-off RBI single in the 10th.
Season Splits, By Month:
- April: 5 GS, 1-4, 5.22 ERA, 29 1/3 IP, 30 SO, 14 BB, .257/.344/.496
- May: 6 GS, 1-3, 5.91 ERA, 35 IP, 34 SO, 10 BB, .272/.322/.449
- June: 5 GS, 2-1, 1.78 ERA, 30 1/3 IP, 30 SO, 12 BB, .194/.275/.287
- July: 5 GS, 2-1, 3.45 ERA, 28 2/3 IP, 40 SO, 9 BB, .211/.271/.367
- August: 4 GS, 2-1, 4.91 ERA, 22 IP, 21 SO, 8 BB, .233/.320/.419
Eickhoff Career vs. CHC: 1-2, 3.51 ERA, 4 G, 4 GS, 25 2/3 IP, 18 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 8 BB, 28 SO, 1.013 WHIP
Eickhoff, 27, last opposed the Cubs on May 3 at Wrigley Field in the Phillies' 5-4 defeat. In 5 2/3 innings, the right-hander allowed four runs on five hits, two walks and five strikeouts spanning 97 pitches (56 strikes).
Over his last 10 starts, Eickhoff is 3-0 with a 3.67 ERA and 52-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 56 1/3 innings. The Evansville, Indiana native was 0-7 with a 5.15 ERA in his 12 starts prior.
Season Splits, By Month:
- April: 5 GS, 0-2, 3.56 ERA, 30 1/3 IP, 28 SO, 11 BB, .235/.297/.383
- May: 5 GS, 0-3, 6.08 ERA, 26 2/3 IP, 23 SO, 8 BB, .325/.371/.491
- June: 4 GS, 0-2, 5.49 ERA, 19 2/3 IP, 14 SO, 11 BB, .291/.370/.468
- July: 4 GS, 2-0, 3.27 ERA, 22 IP, 25 SO, 10 BB, .235/.333/.395
- August: 4 GS, 1-0, 4.03 ERA, 22 1/3 IP, 19 SO, 9 BB, .291/.357/.430
Starting Lineups:
| Chicago Cubs (68-58) | Philadelphia Phillies (46-80) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Ben Zobrist | S | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | LF | Kyle Schwarber | R | 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 3 | 3B | Kris Bryant | R | 3 | RF | Nick Williams | L |
| 4 | 1B | Anthony Rizzo | L | 4 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 5 | CF | Ian Happ | S | 5 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R |
| 6 | C | Alex Avila | L | 6 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 7 | RF | Jason Heyward | L | 7 | CF | Pedro Florimon | S |
| 8 | SS | Javier Baez | R | 8 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R |
| 9 | P | Jose Quintana | R | 9 | P | Jerad Eickhoff | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Phillies rookie 1B/C Jorge Alfaro has hit safely in nine straight games, batting .324/.324/.432 with three runs scored, 12 hits, one home run, four RBIs and 12 strikeouts. Rookie 1B/OF Rhys Hoskins, meanwhile, has taken the league by storm, with eight home runs and 18 RBIs over his last 11 games after starting his career 1-13 in his first four. Hoskins matches Carlos Delgado and Trevor Story for the most home runs in major league history through 15 career games.
- Injury Report:
- Cubs
- C Willson Contreras (strained right hamstring), possible mid-September return
- SS Addison Russell (right foot strain), possible late August return
- RHP Justin Grimm (right index finger infection), possible late August return
- LHP Jon Lester (left shoulder fatigue & left lat tightness), possible late August return
- Phillies
- OF Odubel Herrera (left hamstring strain), possible late August return
- OF Aaron Altherr (strained right hamstring), possible September return
- C Andrew Knapp (bruised right hand), possible early September return
- RHP Zach Eflin (right shoulder strain), status uncertain
- RHP Vince Velasquez (right middle finger numbness), possible 2018 return
- RHP Casey Fien (rotator cuff strain), out indefinitely
- RHP Clay Buchholz (forearm surgery), possible September return
- Cubs
- The Phillies have not won a home series against the Cubs since August 6-8, 2013. The Phillies have lost three straight games overall against the Cubs, falling 8-3, 5-4 and 5-4 back in early May at Wrigley Field.
What's Next:
- Saturday, August 26, 2017: vs. Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.52 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Lively (1-4, 3.70 ERA)
- TV: NBC10, Telemundo; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
