By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies (25-16) — having won 17 of their 19 non-division games thus far — will look to advance to first place in the National League (NL) East and the NL overall, as they take on the St. Louis Cardinals (23-18) Friday evening at Busch Stadium.
Former NL All-Star right-handers Jake Arrieta and Michael Wacha will face off in the second of a four-game set. Arrieta will make his eighth career start with the Phillies, as well as his eighth career start at Busch Stadium.
Vince Velasquez captured his third straight winning decision in Thursday's 6-2 series opener win. In 6 1/3 innings, Velasquez allowed a season-low zero runs on five hits, two walks and five strikeouts spanning 96 pitches and 60 strikes. The right-hander won only two games through 15 starts all of last season. On offense, Carlos Santana broke a 0-0 tie in the fifth with a 437-foot home run to center. Pedro Florimon also homered in the ninth, his first home run since 2013 while a member of the Minnesota Twins.
The Phillies are on pace to win 99 games, with a current fifth-best winning percentage in all of baseball (.610). They trail the New York Yankees (.700), Boston Red Sox (.682), Houston Astros (.622) and Atlanta Braves (.619).
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (25-16) | St. Louis Cardinals (23-18) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Jake Arrieta | RHP | Michael Wacha | ||
| (3-1, 2.59 ERA) | (4-1, 3.09 ERA) | ||||
RHP Jake Arrieta, Age: 32
- Career vs. STL: 8-4, 2.27 ERA, 17 G, 17 GS, 99 IP, 81 H, 31 R, 25 ER, 7 HR, 31 BB, 107 SO, 1.131 WHIP
- Career at Busch Stadium: 2-3, 4.21 ERA, 7 G, 7 GS, 36 1/3 IP, 40 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 5 HR, 13 BB, 38 SO, 1.459 WHIP
RHP Michael Wacha, Age: 26
- Career vs. PHI: 2-2, 4.40 ERA, 5 G, 5 GS, 28 2/3 IP, 33 H, 17 R, 14 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 24 SO, 1.465 WHIP
- Career at Busch Stadium: 27-12, 3.51 ERA, 68 G, 62 GS, 369 2/3 IP, 353 H, 148 R, 144 ER, 27 HR, 114 BB, 329 SO, 1.263 WHIP
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (25-16) | St. Louis Cardinals (23-18) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | CF | Tommy Pham | R |
| 2 | LF | Rhys Hoskins | R | 2 | 3B | Matt Carpenter | L |
| 3 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 3 | 1B | Jose Martinez | R |
| 4 | 1B | Carlos Santana | S | 4 | LF | Marcell Ozuna | R |
| 5 | C | Jorge Alfaro | R | 5 | SS | Jedd Gyorko | R |
| 6 | RF | Nick Williams | L | 6 | RF | Dexter Fowler | S |
| 7 | 3B | Scott Kingery | R | 7 | 2B | Kolten Wong | L |
| 8 | SS | Pedro Florimon | S | 8 | C | Francisco Pena | R |
| 9 | P | Jake Arrieta | R | 9 | P | Michael Wacha | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 8:15 p.m.
- TV: NBCSP
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Center fielder Odubel Herrera is riding a 43-game on-base streak and a five-game hitting streak. Herrera leads the NL in batting average (.361) and trails only the Boston Red Sox's Mookie Betts (.364) overall. Over his last nine games, Herrera is slashing .500/.590/.906 with seven runs scored, nine singles, four doubles, three home runs, seven walks and 11 RBI.
- Seranthony Dominguez recorded another two-thirds of a perfect inning, and his third consecutive appearance with a hold, in Thursday's opener. Per Corey Seidman, Dominguez is the only MLB reliever since 1908 to begin his career with "five straight appearances allowing no runs, hits or walks and recording at least two outs."
- Fifteen-year veteran catcher Yadier Molina remains sidelined and on the disabled list, since May 6, with a traumatic hematoma in his injured groin. He is expected to miss at least a month, with catchers Francisco Pena and Steven Baron splitting time in his absence. Carson Kelly was originally recalled to replace Molina's catching vacancy on the roster, but he, too, was placed on the disabled list on May 16 with a right hamstring strain.
- Spanning 33 career at-bats against Arrieta, Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter has just two hits, both home runs, with three RBI, eight walks and 10 strikeouts. Third baseman Maikel Franco and Herrera are a combined 7-22 lifetime against Wacha with four doubles, six RBI, one walk and three strikeouts.
What's Next:
Saturday, May 19, 2018: at St. Louis Cardinals, 2:15 p.m.
- Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Mo.
- RHP Zach Eflin (1-0, 0.71 ERA) vs. RHP John Gant (1-1, 4.15 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
