Looking to bounce back, Phillies welcome MLB best Red Sox to town

Following a disappointing West Coast trip, the Philadelphia Phillies are heading back to Citizens Bank Park to face off against the Boston Red Sox. The Phillies will have their work cut out for them, as Boston is red hot right now, sweeping two of their last three series. Frankly, the Red Sox have been hot all season, as they enter this series 50 games over .500. The Phillies did fare well against them in Boston a couple weeks ago, splitting a two game series, with their loss in the series coming in extra innings.

While the Phillies will have the advantage of being at home for this series, they won’t have Aaron Nola or Jake Arrieta pitching for them this time around. On the mound for the Phillies, we will see Nick Pivetta and Vince Velasquez. After a disappointing month of July, Pivetta is off to a strong start in August. Velasquez is 1-1 in his first two starts in August. 

Boston will be without their aces as well, as the Phillies will see Rick Porcello in game one and recently acquired Nathan Eovaldi in game two. Eovaldi has yet to lose a start since joining the Red Sox.

After dropping two games against the San Diego Padres, the Phillies will need to steal at least a game in this series to keep pace with the Braves. The Phillies dropped out of first place in the National League East and now sit in second place, a game behind Atlanta. While they still are tied for the top National League Wild Card spot, winning the division would obviously be preferable. These two games will be a big late season test for this young Phillies team looking to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2011. 

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Nick Pivetta (7-9, 4.51 ERA, 4.87 FIP) vs. Rick Porcello (14-5, 4.17 ERA, 3.81 FIP)

Game 2: Vince Velasquez (8-9, 3.98 ERA, 3.62 FIP) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (5-4, 3.74 ERA, 4.28 FIP)

Where to Watch/Listen

Game 1

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, MLB Network

Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP

Game 2

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN

Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP

Series Notes

• The Red Sox have won 10 of their last 11 games.

• As a team, the Red Sox are hitting .259 on the road, as opposed to .282 at Fenway Park.

• Nick Pivetta has been great through the early parts of August. In his two starts this month, he has pitched 12 innings with one win and an ERA of 1.50.

• In the Red Sox recent series against the Baltimore Orioles, Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi combined to go 1-15 at the plate with three strikeouts.

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