Franco, Phillies Open Series With Arizona Tonight

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The Phillies will look to make it three straight wins tonight as they open a weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park.

There's a little extra buzz for this one after news broke this morning that third baseman Maikel Franco had been recalled from AAA Lehigh Valley where he was hitting .355 with 4 home runs and 24 runs batted in in 33 games.

The 22-year-old Franco is in the lineup tonight playing third and batting fifth. Tonight's lineup is also noteworthy because Chase Utley and his .118 average have been moved out of the #3 spot and tonight the second baseman hits sixth.

Here is the entire lineup tonight for the Phillies vs. Arizona starter RHP Chase Anderson (0-1, 2.97 ERA):

Billingsley gets the start tonight for the Phillies on the mound. The veteran right-hander is 0-2 in two starts with the Phillies this season with a 9.00 ERA. Last time out he lost to the Mets on Sunday, allowing 5 runs in 5 innings, although he did contribute at the plate with a solo home run.

The Phillies have won back-to-back games coming into tonight. Yesterday they earned a split of their four-game series with Pittsburgh by picking up a 4-2 win behind a great performance from right-hander Aaron Harang.

KYW's Matt Leon spoke with Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer about Franco's promotion and tonight's match-up with Arizona.

He also spoke with Lehigh Valley TV analyst Steve Degler about how well Franco has played at AAA.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.