Phillies and Braves battle in Philadelphia
One of the major surprises through the first month of the season for the Phillies was starting pitching, but Ben Lively was the lone hurler of the bunch that never seemed to find a rhythm.

The Phillies placed Lively on the 10-day disabled list Friday with a lower back strain. Through five starts he was sporting a 6.85 ERA, fifth-worst among starters that have pitched at least 20 innings.

With Jerad Eickhoff on the mend from a strained lat muscle, it's likely Lively will find himself as the odd man out of the rotation when he's reinstated. The 26-year-old owns a 4-9 mark over 20 career starts with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.

Streaking Part I
Aaron Nola enters tonight having tossed at least six innings in every home start since July 18, 2016 - that's an impressive 17 game stretch. Cliff Lee accomplished a similar feat over 21 consecutive starts between 2011 and 2013.

Streaking Part II
Odubel Herrera has reached base safely in 26 straight games, marking a career high. He currently has the longest active on-base streak in baseball and the longest by a Phillies player since 2016 (Cesar Hernandez, 29 G, 8/24-9/24).

As of Late
Despite dropping two of three to Arizona, the Phillies still maintain the second-best record in baseball dating back to April 5 (14-5) behind only Boston.

Tonight's Starting Lineup
1. Cesar Hernandez 4
2. Carlos Santana 3
3. Odubel Herrera 8
4. Rhys Hoskins 7
5. Aaron Altherr 9
6. Scott Kingery 5
7. J.P. Crawford 6
8. Jorge Alfaro 2
9. Aaron Nola 1
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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