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The Houston Astros welcome in the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies for the start of a four-game series with National League Wild Card implications on Thursday.
Philadelphia has been surging as of late, winners of seven straight and eight of their last 10 ballgames overall to vault themselves into the NL Wild Card picture. Currently, the Phillies sit three games behind the second Wild Card spot, which is occupied by the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Astros, who fell 5-1 to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday to drop two of three at home to their NL Central division rivals, will look to play spoilers in Philadelphia's late-season playoff chase. The two teams haven't met since mid-May, when the Phillies swept a two-game series.
Lucas Harrell (10-9, 3.83 ERA) will start on the mound for Houston, while the Phillies will counter by sending Tyler Cloyd (1-1, 4.24 ERA) to the hill.
First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. CT at Minute Maid Park, and the game can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest.
For more on the Astros, visit The Crawfish Boxes, and for Phillies coverage, do check out The Good Phight. For all things Houston, stay updated at SB Nation Houston.