Phillies and Cardinals try to dodge tornadoes to get in series opener

Embed from Getty Images

A wave of strong storms is due to hit Philly this week

Weather permitting, the Philadelphia Phillies (31-22) will host the Saint Louis Cardinals (26-26) on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia.

That weather should indeed prove a major factor per The Weather Channel. There is a 75% chance of storms at the scheduled 7:05pm first pitch time, increasing to 95% between 8-9pm and continuing at 60% by 9pm as the storm system which spawned damaging tornadoes in Ohio last night moves through our area.

If they play, the Phillies will continue to try extending their solid work during this current rough stretch of the schedule. Beginning on May 13 the club began a stretch that we have referred to here at Phillies Nation as a 23-game “crucible” of games. All are against competition outside the division, all against winning or traditionally tough opposition.

To this point the club has gone 8-6 over the first two weeks of this stretch. After this current three-game series with the Cardinals concludes, the Phillies will head out to the west coast to visit the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

The Phillies took two of three from the Cardinals out in Saint Louis earlier this month, getting shutout in the opener but then roaring back to dominate the final two games. That is what the Phillies are trying to accomplish, win series, as they attempt to return to the postseason for the first time in eight years.

With today’s breaking news that Odubel Herrera was arrested following an incident at an Atlantic City casino in which he has been charged with domestic assault of his 20-year-old girlfriend, the Phillies have re-called Nick Williams. The club has also re-called pitcher Nick Pivetta, and both players will be in tonight’s starting lineup.

TUESDAY STARTING LINEUPS

PHILLIES LINEUP

1. Andrew McCutchen CF
2. Jean Segura SS
3. Bryce Harper RF
4. Rhys Hoskins 1B
5. J.T. Realmuto C
6. Cesar Hernandez 2B
7. Scott Kingery 3B
8. Nick Williams LF
9. Nick Pivetta

CARDINALS LINEUP

1. Dexter Fowler RF
2. Paul Goldschmidt 1B
3. Paul DeJong SS
4. Marcell Ozuna LF
5. Matt Carpenter 3B
6. Yadier Molina C
7. Kolten Wong 2B
8. Harrison Bader CF
9. Adam Wainwright P

INJURY REPORT

CARDINALS: one of the healthiest teams in the game, the Cards only key player on the IL is lefty reliever Brett Cecil. He is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome in his left throwing arm and could return sometime in June.

PHILLIES: as we all know, the Phils bullpen has been seriously depleted by injuries with the following arms all on the IL: David Robertson, Victor Arano, Tommy Hunter, Pat Neshek, Edubray Ramos. Outfielder Roman Quinn is also on the IL with a groin strain. He took batting practice last week, and could return in early June. None of the pitchers is due back this series.

SHIBE VINTAGE SPORTS STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP

• Nick Pivetta: 2-1, 8.35 ERA, 2.127 WHIP, 31 hits allowed over 18.1 IP with a 16/8 K:BB
• Adam Wainwright: 4-4, 4.82 ERA, 1.414 WHIP, 51 hits over 52.1 IP with a 41/23 K:BB

PHILLIES NUGGETS PREGAME NOTES

• The Phillies won the season series a year ago 4-3. They’ll try to do the same this season after taking two of three earlier this month.
• Phillies have won 18 of 28 home games this season and their .643 winning percentage at home ranks T-5th in MLB. Phillies have drawn a total of 1,006,503 fans in 28 home games this season, an average of 35,946 per game which ranks 6th in MLB
• Phillies have won 18 of their last 29 games (4/25-current) and their .621 winning percentage in that span is tied for the second-best record in the National League
• In his last start against STL on 6/18/18, Pivetta struck out a career-high 13 batters
• Lefty reliever Adam Morgan has not allowed a HR to his last 118 LHH (since 6/7/18) and only 1 HR to the last 193 LHH he faced (since 8/2/17)
• Closer Hector Neris has converted 12 straight saves since 5/21/18 (2nd-longest streak of his career) and 20 of 23 since the start of last season. In those last 12 save opportunities, has pitched 13.2 IP and allowed 1 run on 5 H and 2 BB with 20 K’s.

TICKET IQ PROGRAMMING INFORMATION

• Tuesday May 28 at 7:05 pm EDT vs. the Saint Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia; also being covered nationally by MLB Network (out-of-market only)
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP, WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Phillies try to dodge storms, both on and off field, in Cards opener"