Franco returns to the lineup, Nola starts in Miami rubber match

After Tuesday night’s heroic performance against one of the best hitting teams in baseball, it was reported by multiple outlets that for the remainder of the regular season, the team expects to start ace Aaron Nola every five days. Today’s matinee rubber match is the first of those starts. Nola would have pitched in tomorrow’s game against the Pirates if the Phillies opted to use him as they normally would.

Maikel Franco also makes his return to the starting lineup for the first time since August 3. In a surprising move by the Phillies, the 26-year-old was sent-down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on August 4 to make room on the roster for Corey Dickerson. Franco has two hits and one RBI in four plate appearances since returning to the big club on Friday. A good performance at the plate in today’s game could convince Kapler and the front office to keep Franco up for next week’s six game home stand as opposed to sending him down again and calling him up once rosters expand. Sunday’s game is the last in which Harper can stay on the paternity leave list as the list only permits a player to miss a minimum of one game and a maximum of three.

Here’s everything you need to know for today’s matinee matchup against the Marlins…

Marlins Lineup

1. Jon Berti, short stop
2. Starlin Castro, third base
3. Garrett Cooper, first base
4. Harold Ramirez, right field
5. Isan Díaz, second base
6. Austin Dean, left field
7. Lewis Brinson, center field
8. Bryan Holaday, catcher
9. Elieser Hernandez, pitcher

Phillies Lineup

1. César Hernández, second base
2. Rhys Hoskins, first base
3. J.T. Realmuto, catcher
4. Corey Dickerson, left field
5. Jean Segura, short stop
6. Scott Kingery, center field
7. Adam Haseley, right field
8. Maikel Franco, third base
9. Aaron Nola, pitcher

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Matchup

• Aaron Nola (12-3, 3.51 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 3.82 xFIP) vs. Elieser Hernandez (2-5, 5.18 ERA, 6.27 ERA, 5.28 xFIP)
• Nola has been great in his first two starts of the year against the Marlins. In 14.2 innings, he has a 1.23 ERA and 3.01 FIP. In his career at Marlins Park, Nola is 2-3 with a 3.82 ERA.
• Hernandez is 2-0 with a 4.38 ERA in his career against the Phillies. He earned a victory for the Fish back in June at Citizens Bank Park, going five and two thirds innings, striking out seven and allowing two earned runs.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

• Jorge Alfaro is scorching hot against his former club this season. In addition to going 3 for 4 on Saturday night with a home run, Alfaro is batting .462 with a double, three home runs and five runs batted in against the Phillies. Luckily for the Phillies, they will not have to worry about seeing Alfaro at the plate until the last series of the season in Philadelphia as he has the day off today.
• Rhys Hoskins may be walking his way out of a lengthy slump. He has walked five times so far this series and has scored four runs. In the month of August, he has walked more than he has struck out (22 vs. 19). He probably would like to get a big hit in this game just so he can say he has made good use of a bat in which his dog Rookie is on the barrel:

A very good bat. #PlayersWeekend

? @rhyshoskins pic.twitter.com/tbLXkDQC0u

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 23, 2019

• Nola day is now a scheduled affair. Here are all of the ace’s eight remaining scheduled starts this season. The Phillies hope that they would not need him to pitch the last game of the season as the plan is to already have a Wild Card spot wrapped up:

1. Today at Marlins
2. August 30 vs. Mets
3. September 4 at Reds
4. September 9 vs. Braves
5. September 14 vs. Red Sox
6. September 19 at Braves
7. September 24 at Nationals
8. September 29 vs. Marlins

Ticket IQ Programming Information

• 1:10 at Marlins Park
• NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Sportsradio 94 WIP; WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

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