Phillies welcome the Marlins for four at Citizens Bank Park
Following an emotional win in Queens last night, the Phillies return home aiming to regroup with a four-game set against the Miami Marlins who at 7-17 have the worst record in all of baseball.

The Phillies won two of three when the clubs met earlier this month in Miami.

Aaron Nola has struggled to start the season and he'll carry a 6.84 ERA into the series opener on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. He showed glimpses of returning to his Cy Young-caliber form in his last start against Colorado, collecting nine strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. He did, however, also surrender three runs on nine hits. His ERA for the month of April is 8.53.

"I feel fine," Nola said last week. "It's just a matter of missing my marks by a little. I'll keep working and get it to where it needs to be."

Roster moves
The Phillies placed Roman Quinn on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain and recalled outfielder Dylan Cozens from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. If Cozens takes the field he'll be the 34th different player used by the Phillies this season.

About the Marlins
Left-hander Caleb Smith will start tonight's opener for the Marlins. Through four starts he's carrying a 2.35 ERA and has 29 strikeouts over 25 innings of work. He tossed six scoreless innings against the Phillies on April 13, surrendering just one hit ... the Fish come to Philly after splitting a two-game set in Cleveland, including a 6-2 loss on Wednesday where the bullpen coughed up four runs in the eighth inning ... Tonight's contest marks the return of Jorge Alfaro to Philadelphia. Through 60 at-bats this season he has four homers and is hitting .267 with an OPS of .790.

Probable pitchers
Thursday: Aaron Nola (2-0, 6.84) vs. Caleb Smith (2-0, 2.35)
Friday: Jerad Eickhoff (0-1, 3.60) vs. Jose Urena (1-3, 5.74)
Saturday: Jake Arrieta (3-2, 2.65) vs. Trevor Richards (0-3, 3.72)
Sunday: TBD vs. Pablo Lopez (2-3, 4.44)

Thursday's lineup McCutchen 7
Realmuto 2
Harper 9
Hoskins 3
Franco 5
Hernandez 4
Rodriguez 6
Altherr 8
Nola 1
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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