By: Rebecca Serad, contributor 
San Francisco, CA — After a tough loss last night thanks to the bullpen, the Philadelphia Phillies (31-44) are looking to bounce back against one of the best pitchers in the league, San Francisco Giants (48-27) starter Madison Bumgarner. The Giants ace is having one of his best seasons so far, both on the mound and at the plate. Bumgarner has the third best ERA in baseball (1.85), the fifth most strike-outs (128), and the sixth most innings pitched (102 IP).
Needless to say, producing on the offensive front will be extremely difficult. The Phillies are attempting to get the upper hand against the Giants lefty by stacking their lineup with right-handed hitters, giving outfielders Odubel Herrera and Cody Asche and first baseman Ryan Howard the night off.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (31-44) | San Francisco Giants (48-27) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Jeremy Hellickson | LHP | Madison Bumgarner | ||
| (4-6, 4.41 ERA) | (8-3, 1.85 ERA) | ||||
Phillies right-handed starter Jeremy Hellickson allowed three runs on seven hits in his last outing versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. He allowed all three runs in the first inning and despite finishing with six scoreless innings, earned the loss. In his three career starts against the Giants, Hellickson is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA. If he can pitch with some kind of consistency over the next month, Hellickson could be a trade chip for the Phils.
For the Giants, Madison Bumgarner is having an excellent season. In his last start versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bumgarner threw a complete game, only allowing one run and striking out eight. However, that was not enough to get him the win. He's currently in the midst of a hot streak, going 4-1 with a 1.07 ERA in his last eight starts. In seven career starts against the Phillies, Bumgarner is 4-2 with a 3.14 ERA.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (31-44) | San Francisco Giants (48-27) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Peter Bourjos | R | 1 | CF | Denard Span | L |
| 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 2 | 2B | Joe Panik | L |
| 3 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 3 | 1B | Brandon Belt | L |
| 4 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 4 | C | Buster Posey | R |
| 5 | 2B | Andres Blanco | S | 5 | SS | Brandon Crawford | L |
| 6 | C | Cameron Rupp | R | 6 | LF | Angel Pagan | S |
| 7 | LF | Jimmy Paredes | S | 7 | 3B | Ramiro Pena | S |
| 8 | RF | Tyler Goeddel | R | 8 | P | Madison Bumgarner | R |
| 9 | P | Jeremy Hellickson | R | 9 | RF | Gregor Blanco | L |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 10:05 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- The Phillies have lost 13 of their last 16 games against the Giants.
- Before this recent stretch, the Phillies hadn't had a stretch of 11 losses in 12 games since June 8-20, 2015.
- Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph is starting for the first time since Wednesday. He had been out of the lineup with an illness.
What's Next:
- Sunday, June 26, 2016: at San Francisco Giants, 4:05 p.m.
- San Francisco, CA – AT&T Park
- RHP Aaron Nola (5-7, 4.11 ERA) vs. RHP Johnny Cueto (11-1, 2.06 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
