Today's Lineup: Nick Williams in the clean-up spot for the first time

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Just 23 games into his blossoming career, it's clear rookie outfielder Nick Williams has earned a certain level of trust with Phillies skipper Pete Mackanin.

More proof of that comes this afternoon in the penultimate game of the series against the Braves.

For the first time in his MLB career, Williams will bat in the clean-up spot.

It's a spot in the order he's earned as he's hit .306 with four homers, three triples, four doubles and four RBIs since his call up from Lehigh Valley on June 30. After a single in Saturday night's dramatic win over the Braves, the 23-year-old has now hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games. In that span, he's batting .347 with three home runs and 17 RBIs.

The Phils still are 28th in the league with 4.08 runs scored per game and 22nd in the league with a .252 team batting average entering today's matinee, but if it's consistency Mackanin is looking for, that's just what he's getting from his young outfielder, who will start in left field today. So hence the move into the clean-up hole.

Another change for today sees Maikel Franco drop back down to seventh in the order. The Phillies' third baseman has been scuffling, going 3 for 26 with 10 strikeouts over his last six contests.

Andrew Knapp will start behind the plate and catch Vince Velasquez today. Knapp has been solid at the plate this season, going .257 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 46 games played.

Velasquez is looking to rebound today against the Braves after taking the loss against his former team, the AL-best Astros, this past Monday. Velasquez went just three innings thanks to a long rain delay, but he was still saddled with the loss after giving up four runs on six hits. That loss dropped his record to 2-6 on the season and, granted he missed extended time with an injury, he hasn't added to the victory column in almost three months. His last win came on May 1 in Chicago against the Cubs. He enters today's matchup with a 5.76 ERA.

The Braves will counter with veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who enters today's game with a 6-7 record and 4.71 ERA. He's coming off a rough showing in Arizona last week when the D-Backs tagged him for four runs in 3 2/3 innings in an eventual 10-2 loss. He also walked five batters. But he did school the Phillies earlier this season. He gave up just three hits during seven innings of one-run ball and struck out eight in a Braves win in Atlanta on June 8.

Both teams' full lineups for today's game can be found below.

Phillies
1. Cesar Hernandez, 2B
2. Freddy Galvis, SS
3. Aaron Altherr, RF
4. Nick Williams, LF
5. Tommy Joseph, 1B
6. Odubel Herrera, CF
7. Maikel Franco, 3B
8. Andrew Knapp, C
9. Vince Velasquez, SP

Braves
1. Ender Inciarte, CF
2. Brandon Phillips, 2B
3. Freddie Freeman, 3B
4. Matt Adams, 1B
5. Nick Markakis, RF
6. Kurt Suzuki, C
7. Johan Camargo, SS
8. Sean Rodriguez, LF
9. R.A. Dickey, SP

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