Aaron Nola will get to pitch in front of his home fans in Philadelphia a final time Wednesday before he likely gets the chance to pitch in the All-Star Game later this month.
Nola will be on the mound as the Phillies close out a brief http://www.lionsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-austin-bryant-jersey , two-game set with the Baltimore Orioles at Citizens Bank Park. The game, which is Philadelphia’s final home contest before the All-Star break, will start at 4:05 p.m. on the holiday.
Nola (10-2, 2.48 ERA) has been dominant all season for the Phillies, but he has been especially good at home. The 25-year-old is 7-0 with a 1.77 ERA and 0.911 WHIP in eight starts at Citizens Bank Park this season.
Nola, who has never pitched against Baltimore, has not surrendered more than three earned runs in any of those home starts. Last Thursday, he gave up one run on five hits and two walks and struck out eight in 7 2/3 innings against the Washington Nationals. Nola got the win in the Phillies’ 4-3 victory.
“I actually thought he got stronger as he inched towards the end of the game,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com regarding Nola. “Even there in the last inning, somewhere around that 105-pitch mark, it almost seemed like he was getting sharper.”
The Phillies are 29-16 at home after Tuesday night’s 3-2 win against the Orioles. Philadelphia has more home wins than any team in the National League, but after Wednesday the club won’t play at Citizens Bank Park again until July 20.
The Phillies will try to get their 30th home win of the season against Orioles rookie Yefry Ramirez.
A right-hander Rashan Gary Jersey , Ramirez (0-1, 2.89) will be making just the second start of his major league career. The 24-year-old went 4 1/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox on June 13, giving up three runs on four hits while striking out six in his first start.
Ramirez threw five scoreless innings of relief against the Seattle Mariners last Thursday in his only other big league appearance. He had a 3.88 ERA and averaged 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings in 14 starts with Triple-A Norfolk this season.
“I don’t want to broadcast it for the other team, but the changeup,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter told the Baltimore Sun when speaking about Ramirez’s strong points. “Hitters are so much more in swing mode, so to speak, up here. It’s because they’re good hitters. That’s why they’re in the big leagues. … He’s having a good year down there.”
The Orioles have lost eight of their last nine games and are 0-2 against the Phillies this season. At 24-60 they have the worst record in baseball. Baltimore did not lose its 60th game of the 2017 season until Aug. 13.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, has won three games in a row and five of its last six. At 46-37, the Phillies have a chance to go 10 games over .500 for the first time this season with another win.
Wednesday marks the third straight season the Phillies have played a home game on the Fourth of July. They lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the holiday last year.
Marcus Stroman ended his winless drought against a Detroit Tigers team struggling to snap out of their worst losing streak in nearly 15 years.
Stroman pitched seven innings to get his first victory this season, Justin Smoak hit a two-run home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Detroit 3-2 Friday, handing the slumping Tigers their 10th consecutive defeat.
Making his second start after missing 39 games because of a sore shoulder, Stroman allowed two runs and five hits, lowering his ERA from 6.80 to 6.20. The right-hander struck out four and didn’t issue a walk for the first time in nine starts this season.
The emotional pitcher said he felt like himself again after taking down the Tigers.
”It’s a relief just being able to be myself out there,” Stroman said.
Manager John Gibbons agreed that success had given his pitcher a new spring in his step.
”He looks like the old guy,” Gibbons said. ”He’s got a little strut going, like John Travolta.”
It’s Detroit’s longest losing streak since a 10-game skid from Sept. 13 to 22, 2003.
”The guys are really pushing hard in the dugout but it’s just not happening right now,” manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Detroit slugger Nick Catsellanos said Stroman kept the Tigers off balance both with good stuff, and a funky delivery full of pauses and hesitations.
”He’s a very unorthodox pitcher with the way he delivers,” Castellanos said. ”He kind of dances on the mound a little bit. That can be difficult to get in synch with.”
Seunghwan Oh pitched the eighth and Tyler Clippard gave up an infield single to begin the ninth but retired the next three batters in order for his fifth save in nine chances.
Detroit opened the scoring when JaCoby Jones scored on Dixon Machado’s double play groundout in the third, but the Blue Jays answered with a three-run fourth, with the first six batters reaching safely against Detroit’s Francisco Liriano.
Smoak hit his 10th home run and first since June 3 at Detroit Elgton Jenkins Jersey , and Randal Grichuk added a two-out RBI single.
Tigers infielder Jeimer Candelario cut it to 3-2 with a solo homer, his team-leading 12th, to begin the seventh.
Liriano (3-4) allowed three runs in six innings to lose his third straight decision. The left-hander is winless in seven starts since a victory at Baltimore on April 28.
OSUNA UPDATE
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said he expects RHP Roberto Osuna to rejoin the team when his 75-game suspension for violating baseball’s joint policy on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. It’s the first time the team has publicly endorsed Osuna’s return to the roster since his arrest in early May. Osuna is still facing an assault charge in Toronto. His next court date is July 9.
”Roberto is our closer,” Atkins said. ”We’re running a baseball team and our goal is to win championships. Roberto could potentially be very much a part of that.”
Osuna has no record and a 2.93 ERA with nine saves in 10 chances this season.
MILESTONE K
Stroman fanned Tigers C James McCann in the fifth for his 500th career strikeout. He’s the 21st pitcher in Blue Jays history to reach the mark.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: LHP Daniel Stumpf (ulnar nerve) allowed one run and two hits in one inning at Triple-A Toledo. It was the first time Stumpf had pitched in back-to-back games since beginning his rehab assignment June 19.
Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez (right index finger) has not been able to throw since landing on the 10-day disabled list June 22 and is unlikely to be ready to return when eligible Monday, manager John Gibbons said. … Toronto selected utilityman Darnell Sweeney from Triple-A Buffalo to take the roster spot of OF Steve Pearce, who was traded to Boston on Thursday.
UP NEXT
Tigers LHP Matthew Boyd (4-6, 4.15) faces Blue Jays RHP Sam Gaviglio (2-2, 3.98). Boyd is 0-3 with an 8.66 ERA in four career starts at Toronto. Gaviglio is winless in five starts since beating Philadelphia on May 25.