Phillies offense looks to get going against Plesac and the Indians

The Philadelphia Phillies (78-74), with Jason Vargas on the mound, look to take the second of three against the Cleveland Indians (91-63) at Progressive Field. Both Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto will return to the starting lineup. Realmuto was given the day off while Segura was a late scratch yesterday after suffering an ankle injury in batting practice.

In nine starts with the Phillies, Jason Vargas has gone 0-3 with the Phillies winning only three out of those nine game he took the mound in. He’s lasted only three innings in his last two starts and has yet to pitch past the sixth inning in any of this nine appearances in a Phillies uniform.

Vargas will be opposed by Zach Plesac. The 24-year-old rookie out of Ball State University is coming off his first career shutout against the Angels back on September 10th. Indians manager Terry Francona opted to skip his last start in the rotation in an attempt to manage his workload. Expect the young and well rested pitcher to be a tough challenge for the Phillies offense.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s matchup…

Indians Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor, short stop
2. Oscar Mercado, center field
3. Carlos Santana, first base
4. Yasiel Puig, right field
5. Jordan Luplow, left field
6. Franmil Reyes, designated hitter
7. Kevin Plawecki, center
8. Yu Chang, third base
9. Ryan Flaherty, second base

Phillies Lineup

1. César Hernández, second base
2. J.T. Realmuto, catcher
3. Bryce Harper, right field
4. Rhys Hoskins, first base
5. Jay Bruce, designated hitter
6. Jean Segura, short stop
7. Brad Miller, left field
8. Scott Kingery, third base
9. Adam Haseley, center field

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Matchup

• Jason Vargas (6-8, 4.48 ERA, 4.71 FIP, 5.45 xFIP) vs. Zach Plesac (8-6, 3.64 ERA, 5.06 FIP, 5.10 xFIP)
• Vargas has plenty of experience against the Indians as a member of both the Seattle Mariners and the Kansas City Royals. His last start against them came in 2017. Overall, he is 9-5 with a 4.24 ERA in 19 starts with one career shutout.
• Plesac is making his first start against the Phillies. This is also his first career outing against a NL East opponent.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

• In the month of September, Scott Kingery is slashing .167/.200/.394 with four home runs and 24 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances.
• As a designated hitter, Jay Bruce has three home runs and six runs batted in with a slash line of .234/.308/.447.
• Plesac, last night’s winning pitcher Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale were all drafted in the 12th, 4th and 3rd rounds of the 2016 MLB draft and have a combined ERA of 3.15 on the season. In that same draft, the Phillies selected RHP Kevin Gowdy (2nd round, currently in Class-A Lakewood),  LHP JoJo Romero (4th round, currently in Double-A Reading and pitching in the Arizona Fall League) and LHP Cole Irvin, who is the only player from that year’s draft class to make it to the big leagues.

Ticket IQ Programming Information

• 7:10 at Progressive Field
• NBC Sports Philadelphia; Fox Sports 1
• Sportsradio 94 WIP; WTTM 1680 (Spanish)