By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
PHILADELPHIA — The San Francisco Giants have won five straight series but, with a win tonight, the Phillies could end that streak.
The Phillies began their four-game series with one of the hottest teams in the National League Monday night. The Phillies won the opening game of the series in an emphatic fashion. Behind home runs from Odúbel Herrera, César Hernández and Carlos Santana, the offense exploded for 11 runs. Meanwhile, the Phillies were able to blank the Giants behind a strong start from Zach Eflin and the major league debut of Seranthony Domínguez.
The Phillies will send their ace, Aaron Nola, to the mound Tuesday night. The Phillies have dropped their last four series, but a win tonight would prevent a loss in this four-game series.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| San Francisco Giants (19-16) | Philadelphia Phillies (19-15) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Derek Holland | RHP | Aaron Nola | ||
| (1-3, 5.70 ERA) | (4-1, 2.17 ERA) | ||||
Derek Holland — Age: 31;
- Last Start: May 2, 2018, vs SD: W, 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 SO, 1 BB
- Career when away: (30-36), 104 G, 566.1 IP, 552 H, 311 R, 282 ER, 199 BB, 442 SO, 4.48 ERA
Holland was drafted by the Rangers in the 25th round of the 2006 draft and made his debut with the Major League club in 2009. He spent parts of eight seasons with the Rangers before spending last season with the Chicago White Sox and joining the Giants this offseason.
Holland had a series of strong campaigns from 2011 to 2013. Over the course of those three seasons, he posted a 38-21 record and a 3.98 ERA over 92 starts. In 2011, he lead the American League with four shutouts. It looked as though Holland would continue his dominance in 2014 before suffering a series of injuries. Since the injury issues, Holland has posted a 19-29 record and a 5.52 ERA over only 62 starts.
Holland has only made it beyond the fifth inning two times this season. He has posted only one quality start this season. While his only win came in his last start, he gave up four runs (all earned) while only pitching three and a third innings in his previous start.
Aaron Nola — Age: 24;
- Last Start: May 2, 2018, at MIA: W, 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 7 SO, 1 BB
- Career vs. SFG: (0-1), 2 G, 8.1 IP, 17 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO, 10.80 ERA
- Career at Citizen’s Bank Park: (17-12), 32 G, 202.2 IP, 174 H, 83 R, 77 ER, 51 BB, 227 SO, 3.42 ERA
Nola was originally drafted by the Blue Jays in the 22nd round of the 2011 draft out of high school. He chose not to sign and attended Louisiana State University. In 2014, the Phillies drafted Nola seventh overall. The move turned out to be a good one, as Nola moved up through the system at an astonishing rate, especially for a pitcher. He made his Major League debut just one year later in 2015.
Nola has been stellar for the Phillies so far this season. He has yet to give up more than three runs in a game and has pitched at least five innings in each of his starts. He currently holds a streak of five straight quality starts. His sole loss on the season came in the form of a 2-1 loss in Atlanta on April 16 where he gave up only four hits and a walk.
The young ace has not faired well against the Giants in the two games he has previously faced them. While his offense got him off the hook for a poor start in 2016 in which he only got through three full innings, he was not so lucky when he faced the Giants in the 2017 season. Nola will seek his first win against the club tonight.
Starting Lineups:
| San Francisco Giants (19-16) | Philadelphia Phillies (19-15) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | LF | Gregor Blanco | L | 1 | 2B | César Hernández | S |
| 2 | RF | Andrew McCutchen | R | 2 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R |
| 3 | C | Buster Posey | R | 3 | CF | Odúbel Herrera | L |
| 4 | 1B | Brandon Belt | L | 4 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 5 | 3B | Evan Longoria | R | 5 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S |
| 6 | SS | Brandon Crawford | L | 6 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 7 | 2B | Alen Hanson | S | 7 | SS | Scott Kingery | R |
| 8 | CF | Austin Jackson | R | 8 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R |
| 9 | P | Derek Holland | S | 9 | P | Aaron Nola | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- With his two home runs in last night’s game, center fielder Odúbel Herrera now holds a batting average of .341. That’s good for second place behind only Nick Markakis of the Braves. He also extended his on base streak to 36 straight games – the third longest streak in Phillies history (Bobby Abreu, 48, and Jimmy Rollins, 38).
- Phillies outfielder Rhys Hoskins has reached base safely in 30 of his 33 starts this season.
- After pitching a scoreless ninth inning last night, Phillies relief pitcher Yacksel Ríos has struck out 13 batters over his last 13 innings pitched. 22 out of his 28 appearances have been scoreless.
What’s Next:
- Wednesday, May 9, 2018: vs. San Francisco Giants, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Chris Stratton (3-2, 3.99 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (1-2, 4.76 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
