By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Detroit, MI – When you look at the scores from the last two Phillies games, not a ton will stand out to you. They beat Atlanta, MLB's worst team, 5-0 on Sunday. The Phils followed that up with a loss to the Tigers on Monday night, 5-4. If you look closer at the box score though, you'll see that the Phillies offense has started to hit much better, breaking out for 25 hits and nine runs over the last two games. They'll have a tough test to keep that going tonight in Detroit as Justin Verlander starts for the Tigers. Philadelphia will go with Jeremy Hellickson.
Monday's loss had its bright spots for the Phillies, without a doubt. Five of their starting nine had multi-hit games, with Maikel Franco and Tommy Joseph both hitting homers in the defeat. In addition to those two going deep, Odubel Herrera had three hits while Cameron Rupp and Tyler Goeddel combined to go 4-for-8 with two runs scored.
With Goeddel's recent success and Cesar Hernandez continuing to struggle, Pete Mackanin might want to consider moving Goeddel up to the two spot in the lineup. Cesar hit into two double plays on Monday and is only hitting .192 over his last seven games.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (25-20) | Detroit Tigers (22-22) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Jeremy Hellickson | RHP | Justin Verlander | ||
| (4-2, 3.99 ERA) | (3-4, 4.58 ERA) | ||||
28-year-old righty Jeremy Hellickson has become the veteran starter in a young Phillies pitching staff following the injury to Charlie Morton. The former Diamondbacks starter has done nothing but pitch effectively in the majority of his outings for the Phils, allowing three runs or less in five of his first nine starts. He hasn't allowed more than three runs over his last three outings, but has gotten past the sixth inning in just one of those games. He'll need to keep his pitch count low tonight after Vince Velasquez was pulled in the fifth on Monday. Hellickson's last start came in a 4-2 Phillies win against the Marlins. He pitched six innings of two-run ball, striking out four.
Although Justin Verlander's number's aren't what they used to be, he's a six-time All-Star and won both the Cy Young and MVP Awards back in 2011. His 4.58 ERA is in large part due to two starts that saw him give up 14 earned runs in 9.1 innings earlier this year. He's allowed one run or less in two of his last three starts. In his last outing, Verlander allowed three earned runs over 7.1 innings against the Twins last Wednesday.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (25-20) | Detroit Tigers (22-22) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 1 | 2B | Ian Kinsler | R |
| 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 2 | RF | JD Martinez | R |
| 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | 1B | Miguel Cabrera | R |
| 4 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 4 | DH | Victor Martinez | S |
| 5 | DH | Ryan Howard | L | 5 | 3B | Nick Castellanos | R |
| 6 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R | 6 | CF | Cameron Maybin | R |
| 7 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 7 | C | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | S |
| 8 | LF | Tyler Goeddel | R | 8 | LF | Mike Aviles | R |
| 9 | RF | Peter Bourjos | R | 9 | SS | Jose Iglesias | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:10 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Tigers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is in the lineup, likely due to his success against Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson. He is 8-for-25 with three doubles, three homers, five RBI's, five strikeouts and eight walks.
- Jeremy Hellickson is 2-3 with a 1.86 ERA against the Tigers in his career. He last pitched against them in 2013, when he played for the Tampa Bay Rays.
- Tyler Goeddel is slashing .440/.462/.680 over his last seven games.
- Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs last night in Detroit's 5-4 win. In 11 career at-bats against Hellickson, he is hitting .364 with a homer and two RBI's. Cabrera has five homers in his last four games.
- Justin Verlander allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings of work against the Phillies in his final Spring Training start this season.
- The Phillies have not won a game in Detroit since June in 2002. They haven't beaten the Tigers since June 2007.
What's Next:
- Wednesday, May 25th, 2016: at Detroit, 1:10 p.m.
- Detroit, MI – Comerica Park
- RHP Aaron Nola (3-3, 2.85 ERA) vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez (3-5, 6.24 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLB.TV; Radio: 94 WIP
