By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies are nearly a full turn into their starting rotation and they've garnered mixed results. Both Jeremy Hellickson and Jerad Eickhoff tossed strong games while Clay Buchholz and Vince Velasquez struggled. Perhaps the most important debut of them all comes tonight, when 2014 first round pick Aaron Nola takes the hill for his first start of the season looking to snap the Phillies' three-game skid.
Nola, 23, was shut down at the end of July last season after dealing with a low-grade UCL sprain that led him to a 9.82 ERA over his final eight starts of the year. During Spring Training, Phils manager Pete Mackanin was impressed by Nola's velocity, despite the right-hander posting an 8.38 ERA in 19.1 innings of work.
Washington will send Jeremy Guthrie to the bump this evening as they promote him from the minor leagues to make the spot start against the Phillies. During the 2016 season, Guthrie spent time with the Triple-A affiliates of the Padres and Marlins, starting 16 games. He's no stranger to the big leagues though, appearing in over 300 Major League contests, 272 starts.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (1-3) | Washington Nationals (3-1) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Aaron Nola | RHP | Jeremy Guthrie | ||
| (2016: 6-9, 4.78 ERA) | (2016 in minors: 6-8, 7.17 ERA ) | ||||
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (1-3) | Washington Nations (3-1) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | SS | Trea Turner | L |
| 2 | LF | Howie Kendrick | R | 2 | CF | Adam Eaton | L |
| 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 3 | RF | Bryce Harper | L |
| 4 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 4 | 2B | Daniel Murphy | L |
| 5 | RF | Michael Saunders | L | 5 | 1B | Ryan Zimmerman | R |
| 6 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 6 | LF | Jayson Werth | R |
| 7 | C | Cameron Rupp | R | 7 | 3B | Anthony Rendon | R |
| 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 8 | C | Matt Wieters | S |
| 9 | P | Aaron Nola | R | 9 | P | Jeremy Guthrie | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:05 p.m.
- TV: NBC 10
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Phillies starter Aaron Nola faced the Nationals four times in his 20 starts during the 2016 season, going 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA over 21.2 innings of work. Bryce Harper is 7-for-11 with two home runs in his career against Nola.
- Washington entered the season with a four-man rotation, carrying an extra bench player for the first stretch of game. Guthrie was called upon tonight after posting an impressive 2.41 ERA in over 18 innings during Spring Training.
- The meat of the Phils lineup hasn't produced over their first four games. Tommy Joseph (0-13, 6Ks), Maikel Franco (2-16), Michael Saunders (1-10) and Cameron Rupp (2-11, 5 Ks) have all had a tough time getting comfortable at the plate in the early going. That will need to change vastly for this offense to put up some runs.
- While those four guys are having a rough go, Odubel Herrera, Howie Kendrick and Freddy Galvis have gotten off to nice starts in 2017. Herrera is 6-for-14 with two doubles, a run scored and four walks, Kendrick is 5-for-13 with two doubles and Galvis has four hits this season, two doubles and two homers, driving in four runs.
- Jeanmar Gomez nearly blew a save against the Reds earlier in the week, but he looked better going through the big bats in the Nats lineup last night in the ninth. He set Harper, Murphy and Zimmerman down 1-2-3 in the top half of the frame.
What's Next:
- Sunday, April 9, 2017: vs. Washington Nationals, 1:35 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Stephen Strasburg (1-0, 2.57 ERA) vs. RHP Jeremy Hellickson (1-0, 1.80 ERA)
- TV: CSN Philly
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
