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The Fall Classic is set to get underway on Friday with the Phillies opening on the road to take on the Astros in a best-of-seven series. This year marks 75 years since the first time a World Series was televised and this year each game will be broadcast on the FOX television network.  ESPN will have the radio broadcast and that feed can be streamed by using this link . Game 1 Friday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Houston.  RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA).  In 16 road starts during the regular season this year, Nola notched a 5-9 record with a 3.00 ERA.  Nola has struck out 18 and walked three in 17 1/3 innings pitched this postseason.  Earlier this month, Nola tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Houston.  In 15 home starts during the regular season, Verlander sported a 10-1 record with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Verlander has a 5.68 ERA and has not recorded a win in seven career World Series starts.  Verlander has...

The Phillies enter the final weekend of the regular season clinging to postseason hopes as they travel to St. Petersburg to take on the American League East Division champion Rays in a three-game set. Losers of six of their last 10 games, the Phillies urgently need wins in order to qualify for the expanded 16-team playoff format.  The enter the weekend 1/2 game behind Miami for second place in the National League East and they trail San Francisco by 1/2 game for the last NL Wild Card spot.    Read ahead for a rundown of the pitching match ups and other key statistics for this series. Friday, 6:40pm.  Vince Velasquez (1-1, 5.46 ERA) vs. Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.64 ERA).   Velasquez notched a win in his last outing against the Blue Jays, going six innings while allowing one earned run on two hits.  Velasquez is averaging 12.1 K/9 in eight appearances this season.  Velasquez has allowed eight earned runs in 8 2/3 innings on the road this season....

Much is being made of the Phillies' upcoming seven-game series at Miami.  A potentially season-defining weekend that will feature two separate double-headers pit the Phils (21-18) against their pesky division rival, the germ sharing Marlins (19-19). The teams will meet for a lengthy series due to both clubs missing considerable time after the Marlins dealt with a coronavirus outbreak when the season got underway in July and the Phillies were the last team they faced.   If the Phillies can't secure a series win against a Marlins team that is in the midst of a rebuild, media types and baseball fans alike have been critical in stating that the big-budget Phils (2020 team salary was slated to be 6th highest in the big leagues while Miami was set to be fourth lowest) likely won't have a place in the postseason.   Read ahead for a rundown of the pitching match ups as well as some key statistics from this series.  Thursday, 6:40pm.  Jake Arrieta (3-4, ...

The Phillies (10-14) will visit the Nationals (11-15) for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday evening. Read ahead for a quick rundown of the pitching match ups and some key statistics from this series. Tuesday, 6:05pm.  Jake Arrieta (1-3, 4.95  ERA ) vs. Erick Fedde  (1-1, 2.55  ERA ).  Arrieta has gone more than five innings in just one of his four starts this season.  In 16 career starts against the Nats, Arrieta has notched a 1-3 record, a 4.61 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.  Asdrubal Cabrera is 6-for-16 (.375 avg) with two homers and four RBI in his career against Arrieta.  Fedde, a right-hander, was Washington's first round draft pick in 2014.  In five appearances (four starts) against the Phillies, Fedde sports a 2-1 record with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.  Scott Kingery is 3-for-7 with a double and a home run in his career when facing Fedde.  Wednesday, 6:05pm.  Aaron Nola (2-2, 3.10  ERA ) vs. Patrick...

Another series, another preview.  The Phillies head south to take on their divisional rival Braves in a three-game series beginning Friday night.   Atlanta at 14-11 sit atop the National League East Division.  Fresh off getting swept in a double header at the Blue Jays on Thursday, the Phillies and their 9-12 record reside at the bottom of the division.   A brief rundown of the pitching match ups and other key notes from this series are ahead. Friday, 7:10pm.  Aaron Nola (2-1, 2.05 ERA) vs. Max Fried (3-0, 1.24 ERA).  In 19 career starts against Atlanta, Nola has an 11-5 record with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  Ronald Acuna Jr. is 7-for-22 (.318 avg) with two home runs and four RBI in his career when facing Nola.  In 2019 Nola had a 4.75 ERA in six starts against the Braves.  Fried allowed two earned runs in his first start this season and in four starts since then he has allowed just two total runs, both earned.  The lef...

On Monday the Phillies will open up a home-and-home four-game series against the Yankees, with the first pair taking place in Philadelphia and the last pair happening in New York City. After dropping two of three in their season opening series against the Marlins, the Phils look to bounce back and get on the winning track.   New Phillies skipper Joe Girardi managed the Yankees for a decade, winning a World Series title against the Phils in 2009.  Two days shy of the 10-year anniversary of the day the Phillies traded him to Houston in the Roy Oswalt deal, J.A. Happ will start the series opener against veteran Jake Arrieta.  Read ahead for breakdowns of the pitching match ups and other key stats from this series. Monday 7/27, 7:05PM.  LHP J.A. Happ (12-8, 4.91 ERA in 2019) vs. RHP Jake Arrieta (8-8, 4.64 ERA in 2019).   In 30 career appearances at Citizens Bank Park, the 37-year-old Happ sports a 3.87 ERA.  In his career against Happ, Andrew McCut...

Rhys Hoskins, image- Jay Floyd At long last, it is Opening Day for the Phillies.  The delayed season, a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, gets underway for the Phils and Marlins on Friday, as the two teams open a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. Entering the 2020 campaign with new manager Joe Girardi at the helm, the Phillies hope this is the year they can return to the postseason for the first time since 2011 after under-performing and faltering down the stretch in each of the past two seasons. On Thursday, Major League Baseball announced arrangements for an expanded playoff format this year, increasing the amount of post-season teams from 10 to 16. Coming off back-to-back last place finishes in the National League East division, Miami looks to surprise many and contend for one of those spots.  The Marlins lost 105 games last year. Read ahead for specifics on the pitching match ups and more from this series.  Friday, 7/24/20...7:05PM....

Happy Opening Day to all.  A brand new season is upon us and division rivals face off to get things started in the City of Brotherly Love as the reigning National League East champion Atlanta Braves visit the hopeful and revamped Phillies. The game will be televised locally on NBC 10 on Thursday at 3:00 PM. The pitching match up...RHP  Julio Teheran (9-9 record, 3.94 ERA last season) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (17-6, 2.37 ERA last season).   Teheran, a native of Colombia, went 1-0 with a 5.14 ERA in four starts against the Phillies last year.  In his career at Citizens Bank Park, the 28-year-old has tallied a 6-2 record with a 3.11 ERA and a .227 batting average against in nine starts.  While facing Teheran in his career, Phils OF Bryce Harper is a .450 hitter with three doubles, eight home runs, 19 RBI and 11 walks with 40 at bats.  Nola went 10-2 with a 2.34 ERA and a .211 batting average against in 17 home starts last year.  The Phillies' first ...

Waguespack with Lakewood in 2016, image- Jay Floyd Jacob Waguespack had a noteworthy 2017 season, proving to be a hurler on the rise in the Phillies' developmental ranks.  Opening the year as a member of the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers' bullpen, he was converted to a starter and earned two promotions before his campaign was through. With Clearwater, the righty, who spent the entirety of last season as a 23-year-old, tallied a 6-5 record with a save, a 3.29 ERA and a 9.6 K/9 mark in 24 appearances (10 starts). After joining the Double-A Reading roster, Waguespack sported a 3-2 record with a 3.65 ERA and an 8.5 K/9 mark. The Mississippi product would join the Triple-A Lehigh Valley roster for their playoff run, looking strong in a start in which he came in on the losing end of a 1-0 defeat that ousted the IronPigs from the postseason. Recently, I talked with the man whose teammates call him "Wagz" about his change of roles this year, the impact of his ...

Thompson, image- Jay Floyd ALLENTOWN, Pa- With some less than ideal efforts coming from the Phillies’ starting rotation in recent weeks, Triple-A starter Jake Thompson ’s recent dominance of the International League could have him in line to fill a void at the big league level very soon. In his latest six starts for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the 22-year-old, who was acquired as part of last summer’s trade that sent Cole Hamels to Texas, Thompson has tallied a 3-0 record with a 0.85 ERA. It wasn’t all smooth sailing this season for the right-hander that was originally a 2 nd round draft choice of Detriot in 2012. Through four April starts, Thompson was the owner of a 6.16 ERA. Recently, though, he has looked more like the dominant starter that the Phillies assigned to Double-A Reading last year when he led them into the postseason with a 5-1 record and 1.80 ERA in seven regular season starts following the trade. Improvements for the Texas native since that troubling o...

Fresh off a series loss on the road in St. Louis that saw the cruising Phillies (16-13) drop three of four, the team heads south to take on the division rival Marlins (15-12) in the three-game set this weekend. The Phils had been winners of 15 of their last 21 games prior to visiting the Cardinals. Now, they'll look to get back on the winning track in Miami. This will be the first meeting between the two clubs this season. Friday, 7:10 PM. RHP Vince Velasquez (4-1, 1.44 ERA) vs. LHP Wei-Yin Chen (2-1, 4.26 ERA). In two road starts this season, Velasquez has a 2-0 record with a 2.25 ERA. Velasquez's .164 batting average against ranks 6th best in MLB so far this season. He has not allowed a run in three of his five outings this season. Chen threw eight shutout innings in his lone career start against the Phillies last June. Chen sports a 4.91 ERA in three home starts this season. Saturday, 7:10 PM. RHP Jeremy Hellickson (2-2, 4.88 ERA) vs. RHP Tom Koehler (2...

Aaron Nola, image- Jay Floyd On Easter Sunday, Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola took time out of his busy spring schedule to chat with PN's Jay Floyd. In four Grapefruit League starts, Nola has a 1-1 record with a 5.28 ERA with 12 strike outs and four walks in 15 1/3 innings. He also tossed 5 1/3 solid innings in a minor league game on Saturday, allowing five hits while striking out seven and walking two. In this interview, Nola talked abouthow he has progressed through spring training, falling in line to start the team's home opener on Monday, April 11th, how he celebrated the holiday and plenty more. -Happy Easter! Were you or the team able to do anything special for Easter? I just went to eat, but I mean, I guess a couple guys on the team will do something special, but I have family in town, so we just went out to eat by the beach. -That's great. I know your family came up to Philadelphia to see you debut last year and they follow you as closely as ...

Franco, image- Jay Floyd In a contest that ended in a 6-6 tie on Thursday, third baseman Maikel Franco continued his hot spring for the Phillies with a pair of home runs and four RBI against the Tigers in Clearwater. Franco got the scoring started in the bottom of the 1st inning when he launched a two-run blast off of starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann . With Zimmermann still on the mound in the 4th, the 23-year-old did more damage with another two-run big fly. A 2-for-2 day put Franco's pre-season batting average at .350 through eight games while the two dingers gives him four in the young exhibition season. Starting pitcher Aaron Nola wasn't very sharp as he gave up two earned runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings of work. He notched four strike outs and issued one walk. Ernesto Frieri pitched the 9th inning for the Phillies, but blew a 5-4 lead, surrendering two earned runs in his lone inning of work.

In his first start of the Grapefruit League season, right-hurler Aaron Nola surrendered four earned runs in two frames to take the loss, as the Phillies fell to Toronto by a score of 9-6 on Saturday. At the contest in Dunedin, the Blue Jays tagged the 22-year-old for four runs in the first inning, all before he recorded an out. Designated hitter Troy Tulowitzki started things off with his first home run of the spring campaign, a solo shot. Left fielder Michael Saunders launched a 3-run shot a few batters later. He would finish with three hits and five RBI on the day. Nola would finish with a walk and four hits allowed while striking out none. It's certainly not panic time for fans of the Phillies' top draft selection from 2014. He posted a 6-2 record with a 3.59 ERA in 13 big league starts as a rookie last season. Having a rusty outing early in spring against one of the top teams in baseball isn't anything to worry about for Nola or Phils fans. It's worth...

Aaron Nola, image- Jay Floyd With a rebuild in full swing, one of the talented youngsters that the Phillies hope will lead them into the next era of winning, starting pitcher Aaron Nola , took time out of his spring training workout schedule to talk with us directly from Clearwater. The 22-year-old right-hander spoke about his new goal with the Phils after reaching the big leagues, learning from a veteran, compliments from his manager and plenty more. Read ahead for our exclusive interview with the team's 2014 first round draft pick. - What are your thoughts on where you are now versus where you were at this point last year? I feel like I'm more prepared this year than I was last year. I think part of that was because (this year) I got off my first full season of pro ball and I kind of knew what the off-season was like after going through the first one. So, I knew what I needed to do workout wise. I knew what I needed to do pitching wise and conditioning wise. So,...

The PhoulBallz Podcast is back to close out 2015 by running down the top moments from the Phillies minor league year. Jay also interviews pitchers Blake McFarland and Stephen Shackleford . Among the topics of discussion are Cornelius Randolph , Aaron Nola and plenty more. Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE .

On the latest edition of Phillies Nation, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Matt Breen joins the panel to discuss the big league debut of Alec Asher , the production of Jerad Eickhoff as well as Aaron Nola 's efforts for the big club. Minor league insider Jay Floyd and Rudy Mezzy team up to review the Phils' acquisitions from recent trades including righty pitcher Nick Pivetta . Rachel and Corey also chat about what is to come for Ryan Howard , Cameron Rupp and others. Watch this week's episode in the media player below and look for new episodes to premiere each Tuesday at 6PM on The Comcast Network (no new show Labor Day week).

The Phillies announced on Friday that the club's top draft pick from last year, Aaron Nola , will be called up to make his big league debit on Tuesday, July 21st against the Tampa Bay Rays. Drafted 7th overall last year out of LSU, Nola has been on the fast track to the big league. He is the first opening round draft pick to make his major league debut with the Phillies the year after he was drafted since Pat Combs in 1989. In 18 combined starts with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, the right-hander sported a 10-4 record with a 2.39 ERA and a .241 batting average against. Nola's second start for Lehigh Valley on Thursday night wasn't a gleaming one. In three innings of work against the Rochester Red Wings, the 22-year-old gave up seven hits and six runs (five earned) in three innings of work en route to the taking the loss. Twice this year, Phillies Nation's television program has profiled Nola's progress in the developmental ran...

On this week's edition of Phillies Nation, Corey and Rachel are joined by Phillies beat writer Kevin Cooney. The trio chats about the Phils' extremely poor record though the opening half of the season, Maikel Franco being the team's bright spot and possible upcoming trades. PN's minor league insider Jay Floyd caught up with Reading hurler Mark Leiter Jr. and also joins the panel to discuss some rising prospects such as Aaron Nola , J.P. Crawford , Andrew Knapp and Rhys Hoskins . The episode, featured in the media player below, also includes a segment with hitting instructor Kevin Wilson, fantasy baseball tips and more. New episodes of Phillies Nation premiere each Tuesday at 6PM on The Comcast Network and replay throughout each week on TCN and Comcast Sportsnet.

JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd In Cincinatti on Sunday afternoon, top Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford contributed to the offensive barrage for the United States Team in the MLB All-Star Futures Game, going 1-for-3 with a run-scoring single while scoring a run himself. The US Team was up 5-1 when Crawford exited the game following the 5th inning. Led by key hits from Rockies prospect Trevor Story and Mets prospect Brandon Nimmo , the club would double their score and increase their lead to 10-1 over the World Team in the 6th inning. Crawford also impressed on defense, nabbing a liner on a leaping catch and turning a slick double play in the 5th frame. This was the 20-year-old lefty batter's second trip to the Futures Game. He went 1-for-2 with a stolen base in last year's contest, just 13 months after he was drafted 16th overall in the 2013 draft. Another Phillies prospect honored to be on the US roster in this year's annual exhibition was starting pitcher Aar...