By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
PHILADELPHIA — Vince Velasquez suggested this Spring Training that he wants to become the Philadelphia Phillies No. 1 starter. If that's the case, he has a hell of an opportunity to start his ascension Friday.
The Phillies will open their 2017 slate of home games Friday afternoon when they welcome the reigning National League East champion Washington Nationals to Citizens Bank Park. In addition to Velasquez facing the Nationals deep lineup — which is led by the likes of Bryce Harper and Trea Turner — the 24-year-old will square off with reigning Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer.
Perhaps the best place for Velasquez to start would be to pitch at least seven innings, something he only did three times in 24 starts in 2016. If he's able to do that, perhaps he'll get better run support than his rotation-mate Jerad Eickhoff did two evenings ago, and the Phillies will get back to .500.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (1-2) | Washington Nationals (2-1) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Vince Velasquez | RHP | Max Scherzer | ||
| (2016: 8-6, 4.12 ERA) | (2016: 20-7, 2.96 ERA) | ||||
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (1-2) | Washington Nations (2-1) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Vince Velasquez | R | 9 | P | Max Scherzer | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 3:05 p.m.
- TV: NBC 10, MLB Network
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Last April, Velasquez went 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA and 33 strikeouts.
- After a disappointing 2016 season, Harper is off to a strong start in 2017. He homered on Opening Day and is three for his first 10.
- Tommy Joseph should be back in the lineup after manager Pete Mackanin gave him Thursday off. In his first eight at-bats, Joseph is 0-8 with five strikeouts.
- While Joseph's struggles at the plate have been more noticeable, Cameron Rupp also had Thursday off after a tough first two games. Rupp has just one hit in his first seven at-bats.
- Scherzer has thrown 187 or more innings in each of his past seven seasons. In the past four seasons, two of which came with the Detroit Tigers and two of which have come with the Nationals, he's thrown at least 214 regular season innings. During that stretch, Scherzer has made four All-Star teams (2013-2016), led the league in wins three times (2013, 2014, 2016) and won two Cy Young awards (2013 and 2016).
- The last time the Phillies won the World Series, they hosted the Nationals in their home opener. We won't talk about that game, though.
What's Next:
- Saturday, April 8, 2017: vs. Washington Nationals, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- TBA vs. RHP Aaron Nola (2016: 6-9, 4.78 ERA)
- TV: NBC10
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
