Tommy Joseph and Cameron Rupp, both of whom have been scuffling at the plate and sat out Saturday's crushing loss to the Dodgers, will return to the Phillies' lineup for Sunday afternoon's series finale in Los Angeles (see game notes).
Both right-handed batters could have favorable matchups Sunday against Dodgers' lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, who has a 4.64 era and has lost all four his starts thus far this season. Those four losses are the most in MLB.
Joseph, who will be at first base and bat seventh today, is hitting just .190 so far this year with one homer and 7 RBI. Perhaps even more troubling is the fact he's batting just .071 against lefties so far this year. Joseph hit .281 against southpaws last season.
Rupp's numbers this season are even less spectacular. He's batting at .180 clip with just a single homer and 3 RBI. Much like Joseph, Rupp has struggles mightily against lefties this season. He's just 1 for 12 (.083) against southpaws this season. Rupp will bat eighth today against Ryu.
With a lefty on the mound for Los Angeles, Odubel Herrera will have the afternoon off. Daniel Nava will stay in left while Aaron Altherr will move over to center in place of Herrera.
Phillies rookie starter Nick Pivetta could be catching a break in his MLB debut as the Dodgers will sit star shortstop Corey Seager on Sunday.
Philadelphia Phillies
Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Both teams' lineups can be found below:
Phillies
1. Cesar Hernandez 2B
2. Freddy Galvis SS
3. Daniel Nava LF
4. Maikel Franco 3B
5. Aaron Altherr CF
6. Michael Saunders RF
7. Tommy Joseph 1B
8. Cameron Rupp C
9. Nick Pivetta SP
Dodgers
1. Andrew Toles CF
2. Cody Bellinger LF
3. Justin Turner 3B
4. Adrian Gonzalez 1B
5. Yasiel Puig RF
6. Yasmani Grandal C
7. Chris Taylor 2B
8. Kiké Hernandez SS
9. Hyun-Jin Ryu SP
