Phillies need a sweep as they set to meet Tigers in series finale

Embed from Getty Images

Vince Velasquez takes the mound on Wednesday afternoon

The Philadelphia Phillies (53-48) will try to accomplish their goal when this quick two-game series began, putting the finishing touches on a sweep of the Detroit Tigers (30-66) with a win on Tuesday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Last night, the two teams battled through 16 long, arduous, frustrating innings before it finally ended with a 3-2 Phillies victory in the early morning hours of Wednesday.

The Phillies will also be attempting to move to six games over the .500 mark for the first time since a seven-game losing skid nearly knocked the rails off their season back in late June.

Following this game, the Phillies will have their second off-day of the week. It will be a travel day, with the club returning to Citizens Bank Park.

This weekend, the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves will roll into South Philly at the start of what will be a pivotal nine game home stand for the Phillies, one that will carry the club up to and through the July 31 trade deadline.

TUESDAY STARTING LINEUPS

PHILLIES

1. Cesar Hernandez 2B
2. Scott Kingery SS
3. Rhys Hoskins DH
4. J.T. Realmuto 1B
5. Adam Haseley RF
6. Maikel Franco 3B
7. Nick Williams LF
8. Andrew Knapp C
9. Roman Quinn CF

TIGERS

1. JaCoby Jones CF
2. Harold Castro LF
3. Nicholas Castellanos RF
4. Brandon Dixon 1B
5. Jeimer Candelario 3B
6. Christin Stewart DH
7. Niko Goodrum SS
8. Bobby Wilson C
9. Gordon Beckham 2B

A day off for Bryce Harper, and Phillies manager Gabe Kapler gets Realmuto out from behind the plate, playing him at 1B for just the second time this season. Hoskins will appear at a position other than 1B for the first time this season, serving as the DH. He appeared four times as a DH a year ago, his only career Designated Hitter appearances. Kingery will appear in his 10th game at shortstop this season. He has played in 39 games in center field, 13 at third base, nine in left field, and just five at his natural position of second base.

SHIBE VINTAGE SPORTS STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP

Phillies – Vince Velasquez (27/RH): 2-5, 4.87 ERA, 1.393 WHIP, 61 hits over 61 IP across 21 games (11 starts) with a 70/24 K:BB

Tigers – Jordan Zimmermann (33/RH): 0-7, 7.51 ERA, 1.686 WHIP, 76 hits over 56.1 IP across 12 starts with a 40/19 K:BB

PHILLIES NUGGETS PREGAME NOTES

• Realmuto leads all big-league catchers in hits, runs and doubles. Is 3rd in AVG, 5th in RBIs/OBP/OPS.
• Hoskins is 2nd in OBP, 6th in OPS, 8th in HR, 9th in RBIs among all MLB first basemen.
• Harper is 2nd in doubles, 4th in RBIs, 5th in OBP among all big-league right fielders. He is 4th in doubles among all MLB players.
• Zimmermann has not faced the Phillies since September 25, 2015, when he was still a member of the Washington Nationals rotation. He has pitched in 44 games, 43 as a starter, in his career at Comerica Park, compiling a 14-22 record with a 6.26 ERA over 233 IP with 161 strikeouts. In six home starts this season, Zimmermann is 0-5 with an 8.16 ERA over 28.2 IP with 21 strikeouts.
• Cabrera now has 2,765 career hits, four shy of Johnny Damon for 54th place all-time in MLB. He has 470 home runs, three shy of tying Carlos Delgado for 33rd all-time. His 1,672 RBIs are four short of Gary Sheffield for 26th all-time.
• Castellanos drilled a pair of doubles in Tuesday night’s ball game, giving him 36 doubles, most in Major League Baseball this season.
•  Beckham played in the 1,000th game of his MLB career in late April, becoming the 78th active player in the big-leagues to appear in 1,000 career games. This season marks his 11th in MLB, and he has played in 1,041 career games. He is nine hits shy of 800 for his big-league career.

TICKET IQ PROGRAMMING INFORMATION

• Sunday July 24 at 1:10 pm EDT vs. the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park 
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia; MLB Network (out-of-market only)
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP; WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Phillies and Tigers back at it on Wednesday after a late Tuesday night"