Reds at Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies returned from an uneven season-opening road trip to find their offense rarin' to go. After erupting for 34 runs en route to winning three of the first four contests of their six-game homestand, the Phillies look to even their record on Tuesday when they continue a three-game series versus the visiting Cincinnati Reds.
Rhys Hoskins is batting a blistering .429 to begin the young season, as he hit safely for the eighth time in nine games with a two-run homer in Monday's 6-5 triumph over Cincinnati. While Hoskins has gone deep 20 times in 59 contests in the majors, highly-touted prospect Scott Kingery belted his first career homer and Nick Williams' pinch-hit blast in the eighth inning provided the difference in the series opener for Philadelphia (4-5). Joey Votto recorded his third multi-hit performance in four outings for Cincinnati (2-7), which has been outscored 34-17 while losing four of its first five contests on its seven-game road trip. However, the 2010 National League MVP is hitless in eight career at-bats versus Tuesday starter Aaron Nola.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cincinnati), NBCS Philadelphia Plus
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Homer Bailey (0-2, 4.22 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Aaron Nola (0-0, 2.61)
After falling victim to a lack of run support in his first outing, Bailey was done in by a four-run fifth inning in a 5-2 setback at Pittsburgh on Thursday. The 31-year-old permitted five runs on seven hits - including one homer - and issued three walks for the second straight trip to the mound. Carlos Santana is just 2-for-10 with five strikeouts against Bailey, who owns a 1-4 career mark versus the Phillies - including 0-3 with a 5.66 ERA in seven career appearances at Citizens Bank Park.
Nola struggled with his command in his last outing, surrendering four walks while also seeing Yoenis Cespedes deposit a curveball over the wall for a two-run homer against the New York Mets on Wednesday. The 24-year-old limited the damage to just those two runs over five innings in his second straight no-decision. Adam Duvall is 3-for-6 with a homer in his career versus Nola, who has limited the remainder member of the Reds' roster (7-for-46) while splitting a pair of decisions.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia 3B Maikel Franco is 7-for-15 with two homers, 11 RBIs and four runs scored during his four-game hitting streak.
2. Cincinnati C Tucker Barnhart has scored all three of his runs this season in the last three contests.
3. Reds 2B Scooter Gennett is 5-for-12 with one homer and five RBIs against the Phillies since the start of last season.