By Theo DeRosa, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
MILWAUKEE — After the four drawn-out days of the All-Star Break, which, no matter the record of the team one roots for, always seem to last longer than any normal four days, the Phillies get back in action.
They start a road series with the Milwaukee Brewers, who sit surprisingly on top of the NL Central standings with a fairly comfortable 5.5 game lead over the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, both of whom sit under .500.
Nick Pivetta starts for the Phillies on Friday night, matched up against right-hander Zach Davies. Aaron Nola will get the ball on Saturday and Jeremy Hellickson starts Sunday.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Phillies (29-58) | Brewers (50-41) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Nick Pivetta | RHP | Zach Davies | ||
| (2-4, 4.73 ERA) | (10-4, 4.90 ERA) | ||||
Nick Pivetta — Age: 24;
- Last Start: July 7 vs. SD: ND, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 9 SO
- Career vs. Brewers: This will be the first time Pivetta pitches against Milwaukee.
Pivetta survived the re-capturing of a rotation spot by Jerad Eickhoff, who came off the disabled list on Sunday. The Phillies sent down Ben Lively instead. When Vince Velasquez returns to the rotation imminently, expect Mark Leiter Jr., not Pivetta, to be the odd man out.
Zach Davies — Age: 24;
- Last Start: July 6 at CHC: W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 SO, 1 HR
- Career vs. Phillies: (0-1), 1 G, 6.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 6.00 ERA
The young right-hander Davies has had an inconsistent 2017 campaign, posting an ERA of 4.90 in his third big-league season. Despite that mark, Davies boasts a won-lost record of 10-4. Both he and Nick Pivetta are just 24 years old.
Starting Lineups:
| Phillies (29-58) | Brewers (50-41) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R | 1 | 2B | Jonathan Villar | S |
| 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 2 | 1B | Eric Thames | L |
| 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | LF | Ryan Braun | R |
| 4 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 4 | 3B | Travis Shaw | L |
| 5 | LF | Nick Williams | L | 5 | RF | Domingo Santana | R |
| 6 | C | Andrew Knapp | L | 6 | C | Manny Piña | R |
| 7 | CF | Odúbel Herrera | L | 7 | CF | Keon Broxton | R |
| 8 | 2B | Andrés Blanco | S | 8 | SS | Orlando Arcia | R |
| 9 | P | Nick Pivetta | R | 9 | P | Zach Davies | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 8:10 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Maikel Franco has a career line of .326/.367/.717 against the Brewers. Last year in Milwaukee, he had a multi-homer game.
- The Phillies are in the midst of 20 games without the same start time for two straight, a streak which will end July 17-18 with 7:10 starts in Miami.
- The Phils are 4-16 when their starter goes exactly six innings, but 14-29 when a starter goes fewer than six.
Standings:
| Updated: July 14, 2017 | |||||
| NL EAST | W | L | GB | RS | RA |
| Nationals | 52 | 36 | — | 486 | 396 |
| Braves | 42 | 45 | 9.5 | 405 | 449 |
| Marlins | 41 | 46 | 10.5 | 410 | 429 |
| Mets | 39 | 47 | 12.0 | 406 | 455 |
| Phillies | 29 | 58 | 22.5 | 332 | 424 |
| NL WILD CARD | W | L | GB | RS | RA |
| Diamondbacks | 53 | 36 | +2.0 | 446 | 344 |
| Rockies | 52 | 39 | — | 461 | 419 |
| Cubs | 43 | 45 | 7.5 | 399 | 399 |
| Cardinals | 43 | 45 | 7.5 | 402 | 389 |
| Braves | 42 | 45 | 8.0 | 405 | 449 |
| Pirates | 42 | 47 | 9.0 | 378 | 403 |
| Marlins | 41 | 46 | 9.0 | 410 | 429 |
What's Next:
- Saturday, July 15, 2017: at Milwaukee Brewers, 7:10 p.m.
- Miller Park
- RHP Aaron Nola (6-6, 3.59 ERA) vs. RHP Jimmy Nelson (8-4, 3.3o ERA)
- TV: NBC 10, Telemundo Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
