By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies (58-45) and RHP Vince Velasquez will seek to regain the series advantage, as they take on RHP Matt Harvey and the Cincinnati Reds (46-58) in the third of the four-game set Saturday evening at Great American Ball Park.
Newly-acquired infielder Asdrubal Cabrera will make his Phillies debut opposite his former New York Mets teammate in Harvey, He will start at shortstop and bat fifth behind cleanup hitter Carlos Santana. To make room for Cabrera on the 25-man roster, the Phillies optioned infielder Jesmuel Valentin to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Cabrera, 32, slashed .277/.329/.488 with 18 home runs and 58 RBI spanning 98 games and 407 plate appearances this season with the Mets. The 12-year veteran is a two-time All-Star and one-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and is a career .301 hitter in 204 plate appearances while batting fifth in the order. The Phillies plan to use him at third base, shortstop and second base this season.
Despite starter Nick Pivetta punching out 12 batters in six innings, and center fielder Odubel Herrera launching a two-run, go-ahead home run, the Phillies fell 6-4 on Friday. Jake Thompson tossed two innings in relief and walked five batters spanning 53 pitches and 29 strikes.
With the Atlanta Braves likewise falling to Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, the Phillies maintained their 2 1/2-game advantage in the National League East with 59 games left to play in the season.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (58-45) | Cincinnati Reds (46-58) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Vince Velasquez | RHP | Matt Harvey | ||
| (7-8, 4.05 ERA) | (5-6, 5.21 ERA) | ||||
RHP Vince Velasquez, Age: 26
- 2018 vs. CIN: N/A
- Career vs. CIN: N/A
- Career at Great American Ball Park: N/A
Since returning from the disabled list (right arm contusion) on July 11, Velasquez is 2-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA, 0.571 WHIP, .111/.184/.111 opposing slash and 11 strikeouts spanning 14 innings. The right-hander earned a win in his most recent appearance, tossing his first relief appearance with the Phillies in the 16th inning opposite the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.
Velasquez has surrendered two runs or less in nine of his last 11 starts since May 17.
RHP Matt Harvey, Age: 29
- 2018 vs. PHI: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 5 SO, 0.400 WHIP
- Career vs. PHI: 7-3, 2.86 ERA, 12 G, 12 GS, 72 1/3 IP, 54 H, 23 R, 23 ER, 8 HR, 17 BB, 76 SO, 0.982 WHIP
- Career at Great American Ball Park: 5-1, 4.10 ERA, 7 G, 7 GS, 41 2/3 IP, 35 H, 19 R, 19 ER, 8 HR, 7 BB, 38 SO, 1.008 WHIP
Harvey last faced the Phillies on April 3 at Citi Field, while a member of the Mets. The right-hander threw five scoreless frames in the start on 86 pitches, allowing only a single to Rhys Hoskins and a walk to Aaron Altherr.
The Reds acquired Harvey from the Mets for catcher Devin Mesoraco and cash on May 8. Harvey has gone 5-4 with a 4.50 ERA and 51-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 13 starts and 68 innings as a Red, and is once again on the trading block. The Milwaukee Brewers are reportedly in contact.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (58-45) | Cincinnati Reds (46-58) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | SS | Jose Peraza | R |
| 2 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R | 2 | 2B | Scooter Gennett | L |
| 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 3 | 1B | Joey Votto | L |
| 4 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S | 4 | 3B | Eugenio Suarez | R |
| 5 | SS | Asdrubal Cabrera | S | 5 | RF | Mason Williams | L |
| 6 | RF | Nick Williams | L | 6 | C | Tucker Barnhart | S |
| 7 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 7 | LF | Adam Duvall | R |
| 8 | P | Vince Velasquez | R | 8 | P | Matt Harvey | R |
| 9 | C | Andrew Knapp | S | 9 | CF | Billy Hamilton | S |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 6:40 p.m.
- TV: NBC 10
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Prior to Friday's game, the Phillies placed LHP Adam Morgan on the paternity leave list and recalled RHP Yacksel Rios and outfielder Roman Quinn from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Quinn grounded out to third in a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh on Friday, his first MLB at-bat since Sept. 2016.
- For the month of July, the Phillies bullpen has posted a MLB-best 2.38 ERA, while the starters have posted a ninth-best 3.90 ERA.
Phillies have 17 home runs since Monday, 6 more than any team in the majors this week.
They've jumped from 16th in the majors to 12th in homers, and from 24th to 21st in slugging percentage.
— Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) July 28, 2018
- The Phillies have hit 57 home runs over their last 38 games since June 14. The club is 18-10 against National League Central opponents this season, and is 23-12 against the division since July 16, 2017, at Milwaukee.
- Left fielder Rhys Hoskins extended his hitting steak to seven games in Friday's defeat, going 2-5 with a run scored and RBI. Over this stretch, Hoskins is slashing .387/.441/1.065 with six home runs, 11 RBI, three walks and seven strikeouts.
- The only current Red to have previously faced Velasquez is second baseman Scooter Gennett, who went 0-2 with a walk and two strikeouts opposite the right-hander as a Milwaukee Brewer on June 3, 2016, at Citizens Bank Park. Phillies center fielder Herrera has homered once against Harvey in 19 plate appearances, while third baseman Maikel Franco has gone yard twice in eight plate appearances.
In the News:
- Phillies GM Klentak: Cabrera Answers Club's 'Most Pressing Need' [Link]
- Phillies Acquire INF Asdrubal Cabrera From Mets [Link]
- Phillies Sign Arjona, Sutera to Professional Contracts [Link]
- Report: Former Phillies LHP Cole Hamels Dealt to Cubs [Link]
- Phillies Tabbed for 4th Facebook-Exclusive Stream Against Mets [Link]
- Former Phillies Prospect Imhof Well-Positioned in New Career Following Tragic Injury [Link]
- Phillies Announce 2008 Champions Scheduled to Appear in 10-Year Anniversary Ceremony [Link]
What's Next:
Sunday, July 29, 2018: at Cincinnati Reds, 1:10 p.m.
- Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
- RHP Zach Eflin (7-2, 3.41 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Castillo (5-8, 5.30 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
