Nola gets the ball in series opener against Boston

After dropping a must-have weekend series to the San Diego Padres, the Philadelphia Phillies (64-60) will look to start a new winning streak tonight against the Boston Red Sox (67-59). The team will send ace Aaron Nola to the mound against a tough Boston lineup that leads the majors in both runs scored and batting average. Nola is coming off an excellent performance against the Cubs at home, going seven innings and only allowing three hits and one earned run while striking out seven. In the month of August, he is 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA and 2.59 FIP.

Just like the Phillies, the Red Sox have disappointed relative to early season expectations. The defending champions find themselves six games out of the final American League Wild Card spot and a whopping 16 games back of the New York Yankees in the AL East. Both teams come into this game with a less than 10 percentage chance of making the playoffs, according to Fangraphs.

 Here’s everything you need to know for tonight’s game against the BoSox at Fenway…

Can you picture @AaronNola027 with @JohnKruk's mullet?

Nols answered some fun questions on Saturday's episode of @MLBNetwork's kids show, Play Ball! pic.twitter.com/143FUHsvug

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 19, 2019

Red Sox Lineup

1. Mookie Betts, right field
2. Rafael Devers, third base
3. Xander Bogaerts, short stop
4. J.D. Martinez, designated hitter
5. Andrew Benintendi, left field
6. Christian Vazquez, catcher
7. Mitch Moreland, first base
8. Brock Holt, second base
9. Jackie Bradley Jr. center field

Phillies Lineup 

1. Rhys Hoskins, designated hitter
2. J.T. Realmuto, first base
3. Bryce Harper, right field
4. Jean Segura, short stop
5. Corey Dickerson, left field
6. Scott Kingery, third base
7. Cesar Hernandez, second base
8. Adam Haseley, center field
9. Andrew Knapp, catcher

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Matchup

• Aaron Nola (11-3, 3.56 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 3.87 xFIP) vs. Brian Johnson (1-1, 6.45 ERA, 5.95 FIP, 5.99 xFIP)
• One of Nola’s best outings last year came in late July against the Red Sox at Fenway. He went eight innings and only allowed one run on four hits. The Phillies would eventually drop that game in extra innings.
• Johnson was poor in his only bullpen appearance against the Phillies in 2017. In two and two thirds innings, Johnson allowed three earned runs on four hits, including two doubles and a home run.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

• Rhys Hoskins is looking for a way out of the worst slump of his career. He had only one hit through the previous six game home stand. Hoskins has mustered a total of eight hits through the month of August. He is still working out walks as his usual pace (17.8%) and he is striking out less than he did in July (19.2% vs. 23.3%), but the hits are just not there for him right now.
• A few days ago, it seemed as though both Phillies and Red Sox fans would be treated to a Chris Sale vs. Aaron Nola matchup. That won’t be the case as the Red Sox ace will likely miss the rest of the season with left elbow inflammation, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
• According to Sportrac and Fangraphs, the Phillies bullpen have lost more player-days and dollars than any other team. In 2019, 715 player days and $17.4 million dollars were lost due to injuries. The Nationals have lost the second-most player days in the bullpen (573) while the Cubs trail the Phillies in money lost due to bullpen injuries ($12.4 million).
• Nola is 5-5 with a 3.46 ERA in his career against inter-league opposition. He is also known to benefit greatly from an extra day of rest. He is 27-8 with a 2.60 ERA on five days of rest. On four days rest, he is 23-20 with a 4.49 ERA.

Ticket IQ Programming Information

• 7:10 at Fenway Park
• NBC Sports Philadelphia; MLB Network (out-of-market only)
• Sportsradio 94 WIP; WTTM 1680 (Spanish)