Phillies (11-11) at Dodgers (13-12)
4:10 p.m. on CSN; streaming live on CSNPhilly.com and the NBC Sports App
The Phillies suffered what may end up as their most bitter defeat of the season Saturday night. Already with a tenuous hold on the closer spot, Hector Neris gave up back-to-back-to-back homers and took his first loss of the season as the Dodgers scored four in the ninth to upend the Phils.
How will the Phillies respond? They'll send Nick Pivetta to the mound to make his major league debut while the Dodgers toss out veteran LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Here are five things to know for the series finale.
1. O Canada
The 2015 trade of Jonathan Papelbon is about to begin paying off for the Phillies.
Pivetta, a 24-year-old right-hander, will make his MLB debut when he steps on the mound in Sunday's West Coast matinee. Originally from British Columbia, Canada, Pivetta was drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft by the Nationals and was traded two years later to the Phillies in exchange for Papelbon, who struggled as the Nationals' closer.
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Since the trade, Pivetta has shoved his way quickly through the Phillies' system. In 2016, his first full season with the Phillies' organization, he threw 148 2/3 innings between Double and Triple A and had a 3.27 ERA, limiting hitters to just 7.7 hits per nine innings while fanning 138 batters. He was even more impressive in three starts this season - Pivetta has a 0.95 ERA and three wins in as many starts for Lehigh Valley and has allowed just 15 baserunners in 19 innings. He's struck out 24. His most impressive start was his last appearance, when he threw six innings and struck out 11 on April 20.
Beyond simply performing well, Pivetta earned a call-up thanks to Aaron Nola's injury. Nola's lower-back strain created a need for the Phillies in their rotation and they called upon the 24-year-old Canadian, who was added to the 40-man roster this offseason.
Pivetta was a part of Team Canada in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, starting a game against Colombia in pool play. He lasted four innings and gave up just one run. He earned significant bragging rights within the Phils organization despite Canada losing the game. How? By getting his Triple A battery mate, Jorge Alfaro, out twice in two at-bats. Considering they don't face each other in any other setting, he could hold that over Alfaro for a while.
In Triple A, Pivetta has a small platoon split with lefties hitting him slightly better than righties. However, he struck out lefties at a smaller rate with an inconsistent changeup. Instead, he lives off a mid-90s fastball to pair with his slider and curveball.
2. Recent Phillies MLB debuts
Pivetta is the first Phillies starter to make his MLB debut this season, just two days after Mark Leiter Jr. became the 18,955th player in MLB history to make his debut. Sunday's game is a bit of uncharted territory for Pivetta, but it's not for the Phillies or even Pete Mackanin. How have some recent debuts played out?
Aaron Nola: Nola had one of the better MLB debuts for a Phillies starter, going six quality innings while allowing just one run in a July 2015 game vs. Tampa Bay. He showed his stuff from the very start and wasn't intimidated by the moment. However, he picked up the loss because the one run he allowed - a home run by the opposing pitcher - was the only run of the game.
Jerad Eickhoff: A month after Nola's debut in 2015, Eickhoff one-upped his new teammate with six shutout innings in Miami. He earned a win while striking out six and allowing just six baserunners. Not bad and a sign of things to come.
Zach Eflin: Eflin had more of a classic MLB debut, a pitcher with the deer in the headlights look. He gave up eight runs and got just eight outs in Toronto last June. He was wiped out of the game after his third home run allowed.
Jake Thompson: Thompson, the most recent of the Phillies' prospects to make his MLB debut, took the hill last August against the Padres. The Friars had his number. He didn't give up any long balls but he surrendered seven hits and two walks over 4 1/3. Thompson garnered just one strikeout in the road loss.
3. Hitting off Ryu
Wins and losses aren't all that indicative of a pitcher's performance. However, it's never a good sign when you lead all of baseball in losses.
In his age 30 season, Ryu is 0-4 through four starts. The lefty was a stalwart for Hanwha in the Korean Baseball Organization, the top league in his native Korea, and came over to the majors in 2013. He was the No. 2 starter to Clayton Kershaw for two seasons, but things went awry in 2015. He dealt with shoulder issues and missed the entire season, having the labrum repaired in his left shoulder.
It got even worse for Ryu in 2016. He rehabbed the injury and made it back in early July, only to last 4 2/3 innings before dealing with elbow discomfort. He didn't make another start last season and ended with surgery on his left elbow.
So his early performance is concerning. His velocity is down to barely an average of 90 mph on his fastball. His changeup, slider and curveball have all elicited solid results this season, but his fastball has been obliterated by opposing hitters. All six home runs he's given up in 2017 have been on that fastball, which simply hasn't been fooling hitters and is often in the high 80s.
In total, Ryu has a 4.64 ERA in 21 1/3 innings. He's given up 24 hits and has walked five batters, although he does have 20 strikeouts. Only Freddy Galvis and Jeanmar Gomez have faced Ryu among current Phillies. Galvis is 0 for 3 while, in a shocking twist, Gomez is 1 for 1 with a single. Howie Kendrick, currently on the DL, was Ryu's teammate last season in L.A.
4. Players to watch
Phillies: Maikel Franco has hit the Dodgers well in his early career (two home runs) and represents a righty-power threat against a soft-tossing lefty. Five of the six home runs Ryu has allowed this season have been to right-handers.
Dodgers: Shortstop Corey Seager was held hitless on Friday, but he has hits in all but six of his 25 starts this year as he carries the Dodgers' offense in the early going. He had a key single on Saturday during the Dodgers' 9th-inning rally.
5. This and that
• Phillies closers have five saves this year and have blown four saves in the ninth inning. The Phillies' five total blown saves are tied for second-most in the majors behind the Blue Jays' eight. Neris' blown save on Saturday night mostly came down to poor pitch location against some powerful hitters. Simply can't afford to make those kinds of mistakes against the Dodgers' lineup.
• After winning five of their first seven road series in 2016, the Phillies have lost three of their first four in 2017.
• The Phillies won six straight games once last season - April 26-May 1. They proceeded to lose three of four directly following the streak.
• Lefty starters have given the Phillies some trouble this season. Southpaws starting games have limited the Phillies to a .244/.297/.370 batting line with more strikeouts (36) than hits (33) in four games this year.
