By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies (1-3) will look to avoid their second series defeat of the season — and their first sweep — as Opening Day right-handed starters Aaron Nola and Noah Syndergaard face off in a Wednesday matinee at Citi Field.
Manager Gabe Kapler's club fell to the New York Mets (3-1) in Tuesday's series opener following a Monday cancellation due to snow, 2-0 — their first shutout loss of 2018. The Phillies were first blanked two games earlier into the season in 2017. The Phillies struck out 11 times, went 0-7 with runners in scoring position and put up just three singles against Mets pitching, coming from Cesar Hernandez, Rhys Hoskins and Odubel Herrera. Starter Ben Lively lasted 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs (both earned) on six hits, a walk and five strikeouts on 91 pitches (62 strikes). Lively also hit two Mets batters.
The series finale will not be televised, only streamed on Facebook Watch. It is the first game ever exclusively shown on social media among the four major professional sports leagues, and the Phillies' first of two Facebook-exclusive games this season.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (1-3) | New York Mets (3-1) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Aaron Nola | RHP | Noah Syndergaard | ||
| (0-0, 1.69 ERA) | (1-0, 6.00 ERA) | ||||
RHP Aaron Nola, Age: 24
- Career vs. NYM: 2-1, 6.19 ERA, 3 G, 3 GS, 16 IP, 18 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 4 HR, 6 BB, 14 SO, 1.500 WHIP
- Career at Citi Field: 1-1, 10.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 9 IP, 16 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 3 HR, 4 BB, 6 SO, 2.222 WHIP
RHP Noah Syndergaard, Age: 25
- Career vs. PHI: 4-1, 1.78 ERA, 6 G, 6 GS, 35 1/3 IP, 24 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 3 HR, 7 BB, 42 SO, 0.877 WHIP
- Career at Citi Field: 15-9, 2.68 ERA, 34 G, 33 GS, 208 1/3 IP, 173 H, 69 R, 62 ER, 18 HR, 28 BB, 239 SO, 0.965 WHIP
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (1-3) | New York Mets (3-1) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | CF | Brandon Nimmo | L |
| 2 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S | 2 | LF | Yoenis Cespedes | R |
| 3 | RF | Nick Williams | L | 3 | RF | Jay Bruce | L |
| 4 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R | 4 | 3B | Todd Frazier | R |
| 5 | CF | Aaron Altherr | R | 5 | 2B | Asdrubal Cabrera | S |
| 6 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 6 | 1B | Adrian Gonzalez | L |
| 7 | C | Andrew Knapp | S | 7 | C | Kevin Plawecki | R |
| 8 | SS | J.P. Crawford | L | 8 | P | Noah Syndergaard | L |
| 9 | P | Aaron Nola | R | 9 | SS | Amed Rosario | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:10 p.m.
- TV: Facebook Watch
- Broadcast team: Scott Braun (play-by-play), Cliff Floyd (analyst), John Kruk (analyst) and Alexa Datt (reporter)
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Phillies all-time at Citi Field: 39-45 (.464).
- Today will be the Phillies' 171st consecutive game with a right-handed starting pitcher, one shy of matching the franchise record from May 25, 1907 to June 24, 1908. Now a long reliever, Adam Morgan was the last Phillies' southpaw starter on Sept. 28, 2016.
- In the series opener, Kapler used four Phillies relievers to get through a combined 2 1/3 innings of relief: Yacksel Rios, Victor Arano, Hoby Milner and Edubray Ramos. Combined, they allowed just one hit and no walks while striking out three batters on 36 pitches.
- Milner has appeared in every game this season, posting a 6.75 ERA and 3.00 WHIP in just 1 1/3 innings. The last time a Phillies reliever appeared in the first four games was southpaw J.C. Romero in 2008, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
- Lifetime against Syndergaard, Herrera is just 1-17 (.059) and Hernandez is 1-11 (.091). Yoenis Cespedes, meanwhile, is 3-8 in his career against Nola with a home run, RBI and walk.
What's Next:
- Thursday, April 5, 2018: vs. Miami Marlins, 3:05 p.m.
- Phillies Home Opener
- Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
- LHP Caleb Smith (0-0, 1.69 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (0-0, 6.75 ERA)
- TV: NBC10; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
