Philadelphia Phillies probable pitchers & starting lineups vs. Guardians, May 9

The Philadelphia Phillies (22-15) and Cleveland Guardians (22-15) are set to open a three-game weekend series at Progressive Field. This series marks one of the Phillies' few matchups this month against teams playing above-.500 baseball.

The Phillies come in to this series on a roll, having won nine of their last 11 games. They completed the sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays with an improbable comeback on Thursday night. They're a season-high seven games over .500 and sit 1.5 games out of first place in the NL East behind the New York Mets, who were idle yesterday.

Last season, Cleveland took two of three when they visited Citizens Bank Park in July. Currently, the Guardians are second in the AL Central, 2.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers. They're 7-3 in their last 10, and are coming off a series win over the Washington Nationals. However, their starting rotation has struggled this year, ranking 27th with a 4.66 ERA, and has surrendered the fifth-most home runs in the majors with 29.

Phillies vs. Guardians probable pitchers, May 9

Aaron Nola (1-5, 4.61 ERA) will open the series for the Phillies. The veteran is coming off his best start of the season, when he blanked Arizona on four hits with eight strikeouts over six innings last weekend to pick up his first win. Even though he wasn't the only one to blame for his winless start to the season, Nola now has a 1.32 WHIP with 45 strikeouts in 41 innings on the season.

Gavin Williams (2-2, 5.06 ERA) will counter for the Guardians. The 25-year-old right-hander has a stingy 1.75 WHIP and 37 strikeouts in 32 innings over seven starts this season. Williams has struggled to pitch efficiently deep into games. Last time out against Toronto, he used 100 pitches to get through four innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and five walks with nine strikeouts.