Arrieta, Phillies Look to Snap 4-Game Skid Opposite Red Sox

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Philadelphia Phillies (58-48) and right-hander Jake Arrieta will look to salvage the series — and avoid being swept for the third time this season — opposite southpaw Drew Pomeranz and the Boston Red Sox (75-33) Tuesday evening at the historic Fenway Park. Second baseman Ian Kinsler will make his Red Sox debut, batting sixth.

UPDATE, 4 p.m.: Ahead of Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline, the Phillies acquired All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos and southpaw reliever Aaron Loup from the American League East's Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays, respectively. LHP Zac Curtis and INF Trevor Plouffe were designated for assignment. OF Dylan Cozens will replace Plouffe on the 25-man roster.

Aaron Nola and David Price squared off in a classic pitcher's duel in Monday's two-game series opener, but the Red Sox ultimately prevailed, 2-1, via catcher Blake Swihart's walk-off ground-rule double in the 13th inning. Both starting pitchers lasted eight innings, which was just the fourth such occurrence in Major League Baseball this season. Rhys Hoskins, Odubel Herrera, Asdrubal Cabrera and Maikel Franco each collected multiple hits, as the Phillies outhit the Red Sox, 10-7, despite Franco's second-inning RBI single being the club's only produced run. 

Nola would have tossed eight scoreless frames, if it were not for Herrera's misplay on a fifth-inning line drive — which allowed third baseman Eduardo Nunez to triple-home center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. from first. Herrera also made a costly baserunning blunder earlier in the game, and is out of Tuesday's series finale lineup in favor of Roman Quinn.

The Phillies have lost six straight games at Fenway Park, and are 8-20 at the venue all-time. Likewise, the Phillies have fallen in 40 of their 64 meetings with the Red Sox since June 1997.


Starting Pitching Matchup:

Philadelphia Phillies (58-48) Boston Red Sox (75-33)
RHP Jake Arrieta LHP Drew Pomeranz
(8-6, 3.45 ERA) (1-4, 6.91 ERA)

RHP Jake Arrieta, Age: 32

  • 2018 vs. BOS: N/A
  • Career vs. BOS: 1-4, 5.27 ERA, 8 G, 7 GS, 41 IP, 45 H, 25 R, 24 ER, 7 HR, 16 BB, 31 SO, 1.488 WHIP
  • Career at Fenway Park: 1-2, 5.40 ERA, 5 G, 4 GS, 23 1/3 IP, 22 H, 15 R, 14 ER, 3 HR, 13 BB, 20 SO, 1.500 WHIP

Through 33 career interleague starts, Arrieta is 16-10 with a 4.01 ERA, 162-59 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.162 WHIP spanning 199 2/3 innings. The Phillies have won each of Arrieta's five starts this month, with the right-hander going 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA. Arrieta went 0-4 with a 6.66 ERA in five June starts (25 2/3 innings).

LastFive

LHP Drew Pomeranz, Age: 29

  • 2018 vs. PHI: N/A
  • Career vs. PHI: 0-2, 3.60 ERA, 4 G, 4 GS, 20 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 HR, 8 BB, 1.000 WHIP
  • Career at Fenway Park: 11-7, 4.59 ERA, 31 G, 27 GS, 139 1/3 IP, 147 H, 75 R, 71 ER, 22 HR, 56 BB, 142 SO, 1.457 WHIP

Pomeranz went 17-6 with a 3.32 ERA in 32 starts last season, but is just 1-4 with a 6.91 ERA in nine appearances in 2018, missing significant time due to a left forearm flexor strain to start the season, and left biceps tendinitis in June and the first few weeks of July.


Starting Lineups:

Philadelphia Phillies (58-48) Boston Red Sox (75-33)
  Position Player Bats   Position Player Bats
1 2B Cesar Hernandez S 1 LF Andrew Benintendi L
2 LF Rhys Hoskins R 2 C Blake Swihart S
3 1B Carlos Santana S 3 1B Mitch Moreland L
4 DH Asdrubal Cabrera S 4 RF J.D. Martinez R
5 RF Nick Williams L 5 SS Xander Bogaerts R
6 3B Maikel Franco R 6 2B Ian Kinsler R
7 CF Roman Quinn S 7 3B Eduardo Nunez R
8 C Jorge Alfaro R 8 DH Brock Holt L
9 SS Scott Kingery R 9 CF Jackie Bradley Jr. L


Broadcast Information:

  • First pitch: 7:10 p.m.
  • TV: NBCSP, ESPN
  • Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP

Game Notes:

Standings

  • The Phillies have lost four straight games since Friday, outscored 18-7 by their opponents. Their lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East has shrunk to just a 1/2 game.
  • Kinsler, 36, was acquired late Monday in exchange for LHP Williams Jerez and RHP Ty Buttrey.
  • As NBC Sports Philadelphia's Corey Seidman notes, the first five Red Sox hitters in the lineup went 0-23 in Monday's opener.
  • Hoskins' first-inning double off Price on Monday extended the club's extra-base hits streak to 102 games — which is sole possession of the second longest such streak in Phillies history. The longest streak is 129 straight games, set from June 15, 1929, to May 17, 1930.
  • This season's MLB leader in home runs (32) and RBI (89) — designated hitter J.D. Martinez — is just 1-9 in nine career plate appearances against Arrieta with one strikeout and two double plays grounded into.

CareerVS


What's Next:

Wednesday, August 1, 2018: Off day

Thursday, August 2, 2018: vs. Miami Marlins, 7:05 p.m.

  • Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.
  • RHP Pablo Lopez (2-2, 5.34 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (6-9, 4.85 ERA)
  • TV: NBCSP; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
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