By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Winners of six of their last seven games, the Philadelphia Phillies (7-5) will look for their third straight series win against two-time All-Star RHP Chris Archer and the American League-worst Tampa Bay Rays (3-10) Saturday evening at Tropicana Field. Fellow one-time All-Star RHP Jake Arrieta will make his second start as a Phillie.
The Phillies captured their fourth straight win in Friday's series opener, 2-1. The club trailed 1-0 until the sixth, when Carlos Santana singled to right against Rays starter Jake Faria. Catcher Jorge Alfaro broke up the 1-1 tie in the ninth with the game-winning, two-out RBI single to left, scoring Scott Kingery. Phillies starter Vince Velasquez threw 6 2/3 innings and allowed just one run, while striking out seven batters spanning 93 pitches (59 strikes). Hector Neris notched his second save of the season in the win.
With a win on Saturday, the Phillies would capture their second-ever road series win against the Rays out of four such series overall. The first and only time the club won a series at Tropicana Field was its visit first to the venue, July 18-20, 1999.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (7-5) | Tampa Bay Rays (3-10) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Jake Arrieta | RHP | Chris Archer | ||
| (0-0, 4.50 ERA) | (1-0, 5.94 ERA) | ||||
RHP Jake Arrieta, Age: 32
- Career vs. TBR: 3-3, 5.35 ERA, 8 G, 7 GS, 38 2/3 IP, 32 H, 23 R, 23 ER, 6 HR, 24 BB, 31 SO, 1.448 WHIP
- Career at Tropicana Field: 1-2, 5.09 ERA, 4 G, 3 GS, 17 2/3 IP, 13 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 3 HR, 10 BB, 13 SO, 1.302 WHIP
Arrieta's last start against the Rays occurred on April 16, 2013, while a member of the Baltimore Orioles. While Arrieta is 3-3 with a 5.35 all-time against the Rays, those statistics came before the right-hander's recent rise as an All-Star and Cy-Young-caliber pitcher while with the Chicago Cubs.
RHP Chris Archer, Age: 29
- Career vs. PHI: N/A
- Career at Tropicana Field: 22-31, 3.21 ERA, 80 G, 80 GS, 493 IP, 412 H, 200 R, 176 ER, 46 HR, 152 BB, 563 SO, 1.144 WHIP
Archer has never faced the Phillies. The Raleigh, North Carolina, native has surrendered a home run in five of his last six starts, and has surrendered at least three runs in six of his last eight starts dating back to Sept. 8 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (7-5) | Tampa Bay Rays (3-10) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | LF | Mallex Smith | L |
| 2 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S | 2 | DH | Carlos Gomez | R |
| 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 3 | CF | Kevin Kiermaier | L |
| 4 | DH | Rhys Hoskins | R | 4 | 1B | C.J. Cron | R |
| 5 | RF | Nick Williams | L | 5 | 2B | Joey Wendle | L |
| 6 | LF | Scott Kingery | R | 6 | 3B | Matt Duffy | R |
| 7 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 7 | C | Wilson Ramos | R |
| 8 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R | 8 | SS | Adeiny Hechavarria | R |
| 9 | SS | J.P. Crawford | L | 9 | RF | Johnny Field | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 6:10 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP+
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Outfielder Nick Williams is in the midst of a six-game hit streak, slashing .353/.421/.588 with four singles, one double and one home run, along with a pair of walks and RBI.
- The Phillies have the fifth-best winning percentage in the National League (.583), trailing only the New York Mets (.917), Arizona Diamondbacks (.769), Pittsburgh Pirates (.692) and Atlanta Braves (.615). Despite their recent success, the Phillies have the fewest hits among all teams in the majors (88), but rank fifth in walks (54).
- Just two active members of the Phillies have faced Archer previously in their careers: Santana (6-16, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 4 BB) and INF/OF Pedro Florimon (0-2).
- The Phillies are 4-6 all-time in regular season play at Tropicana Field, with both clubs producing 89 hits each over those contests.
#PhilsPhact: Since 4/3, our relievers have posted a 1.91 ERA (6th in MLB), allowed 27 baserunners (2nd-fewest), surrendered no home runs (joining ARI as only relief corps with 0 HR in that span) and posted the lowest OPP AVG (.160). pic.twitter.com/hODrapu7vW
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 14, 2018
Something to keep an eye on tonight with Jake Arrieta: His sinker averaged 92.2 mph and maxed out at 94.7 in his Phillies debut, but none of his final 30 pitches exceeded 92.
— Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) April 14, 2018
Scott Kingery’s last four games: first HR, first grand slam, winning sac fly, winning run scored. #Phillies
— Mike Sielski (@MikeSielski) April 14, 2018
What's Next:
- Sunday, April 15, 2018: at Tampa Bay Rays, 1:10 p.m.
- Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.
- RHP Ben Lively (o-1, 5.56 ERA) vs. LHP Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 2.25 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
