The Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals will play the rubber match of their current series and their season series Wednesday afternoon.

The teams have split the first two games of their series at Citizens Bank Park and are 3-3 against one another in 2018. Jake Arrieta and Michael Wacha will face off for the second time this season.

Arrieta (5-5 Alex Erickson Jersey , 3.33 ERA), who spent four-and-a-half seasons with the Chicago Cubs, is familiar with the Cardinals. The veteran right-hander is 8-5 with a 2.38 ERA and a 9.5 K/9 rate in 18 career starts against St. Louis. The ERA is the third-lowest for Arrieta against any opponent he’s faced more than twice in his nine-year major league career.

Arrieta gave up four runs (two earned) in just three innings against the Cardinals during a rain-shortened start on May 18.

Arrieta also had a short outing the last time he was on the mound. Facing the Brewers last Friday, he surrendered eight runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks over 3 1/3 innings. It marked the third straight start in which Arrieta gave up at least four earned runs, and his ERA has risen from 2.16 to 3.33 over that span.

Arrieta took blame after the 13-2 loss.

“It was (bad) all the way around,” he told mlb.com. “I single-handedly lost us the game. I put up a five-spot in the second inning, and it wasn’t because of the defense really. And again, if there’s a play on defense that’s not made Ryan Kalil Jersey , it’s our job to get the next guy out to pick that guy up. And I didn’t do that.”

Wacha (8-2, 3.24 ERA) is also coming off a short start.

The right-hander was hit hard against the Cubs on Friday. He allowed nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits and four walks in four innings. Wacha picked up just his second loss of the season and his first since his season debut against the New York Mets on March 31.

Wacha gave up three homers in the loss after allowing just three long balls in his previous 12 starts.

“They were all elevated, middle of the plate,” Wacha told mlb.com. “I just have to do a better job of locating and getting it where I need it to go.”

Wacha tied his season-high with eight strikeouts against the Phillies on May 18. He allowed only two runs on five hits across six innings in that start, and has a 4.15 ERA in six career starts against Philadelphia.

Wacha will try to help the Cardinals win back-to-back games for the first time since June 8-9.

St. Louis was a 7-6 winner Tuesday night thanks in large part to Matt Carpenter. The infielder hit the game-winning home run in the ninth inning off Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez and also had a two-run double. Carpenter has homered in three straight contests and is hitting .316 in his last 13 games.

Carpenter has just four hits in 38 lifetime at-bats against Arrieta, but two of them have been home runs.

Los Angeles Angels two-way rookie Shohei Ohtani will be re-evaluated within the next three weeks to gauge progress in his recovery from a sprained ligament in his right elbow.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia announced the slight adjustment to Ohtani’s timeline Monday before his club opened an interleague series against Arizona.

Scioscia also said the Angels are ”very optimistic” about Ohtani’s prognosis. The Japanese star has been simulating swings with a bat in his left hand and participating in strength training and running for the past three to four days. A right-handed pitcher and left-handed batter, he won’t throw for at least two more weeks.

Ohtani is ”doing as much as he can without impacting his elbow,” Scioscia said.

The Angels initially said Ohtani would be re-evaluated within three weeks after his injections of platelet-rich plasma and stem cells. That procedure occurred June 7 Josh Shaw Jersey , one day after the Grade 2 sprain was discovered.

Scioscia said Monday the checkup will happen ”in two to three weeks,” indicating the Angels might not take the next step in Ohtani’s recovery until July.

”We’re not quite there yet,” Scioscia said. ”But I think within the two- or three-week range from now, when he’s evaluated, we’ll certainly have an idea of what you can add to his workload, what he’s able to do. Get an idea where exactly the healing process is, quantify it, and we’ll have an idea.”

Ohtani hasn’t played since June 6 Golden Tate III Jersey , when he left a start after four innings due to another blister on his fingers. The Angels subsequently discovered the strained ligament and took quick steps in hopes of avoiding Tommy John surgery for their prized rookie.

Scioscia declined to speculate about whether Ohtani could continue his career as a designated hitter if he was unable to pitch for a prolonged period.

”(When) we talk about Shohei, it’s really two different players,” Scioscia said. ”And one does not necessarily impact the other unless he was doing both at the same time, like when he’s pitching and he needed days off to recover and then he could hit.”

Ohtani, who turns 24 next month, is off to an outstanding start in his first stateside season as baseball’s most successful two-way player in decades. He is 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA on the mound, and is batting .289 with six homers and 20 RBIs during 30 starts as a designated hitter.

The Angels have been on the road since Ohtani’s injury was discovered, but they returned to Anaheim on Sunday night to begin their only week at home until July.

”Initially Emmanuel Sanders Jersey , he was obviously very disappointed (by the injury),” Scioscia said. ”I think that as he’s gone through this first week of therapy, I think he’s come to grips with it and understands exactly what the process will be. The medical staff and Dr. (Steve) Yoon are very optimistic, so we’ll evaluate in two to three weeks, get a better idea.”

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