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Jake Arrieta and Gio Gonzalez should be happy to see the calendar flip to July.

They’ll hope to put a rough June behind them when they face off Sunday in the finale of a four-game set between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals. The Phillies will try to win the series in the 1:35 p.m. matinee.

Arrieta (5-6 Parris Campbell Jersey , 3.54 ERA) had a 6.66 ERA in five June starts. Opponents hit .305 with a .907 OPS against him in the month, and the veteran right-hander allowed at least three earned runs in each outing.

In his last start, Arrieta gave up six runs (three earned) in five innings against the New York Yankees on nine hits, two of which were homers.

“The ball is getting hit, that’s it. Making mistakes, too many mistakes,” Arrieta told MLB.com after the start. “I was throwing quality breaking balls early in the count and then when I needed to go back to a similar spot or a little bit lower in the strike zone or out of the strike zone, I just put it too much in the zone and they hit it. It’s a pretty simple explanation.”

Arrieta had a 0.90 ERA in five starts during May, and he gave up just one run and two hits in six innings against the Nationals on May 6. Arrieta is 1-2 with a 5.02 ERA in 10 career starts against the Nationals.

Gonzalez (6-5 Bobby Okereke Jersey , 3.68) had an even worse June. The 32-year-old lefty had an 8.44 ERA in five starts during the month. In three of those outings, Gonzalez gave up at least four earned runs and failed to pitch more than four innings.

Gonzalez had his worst start of 2018 the last time he took the mound. He gave up six runs and walked five batters in one inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

“It wasn’t my night. I couldn’t get a strike,” Gonzalez, who missed the strike zone with 33 of his 62 pitches, told reporters after the outing. “Sometimes it happens. It’s part of the game.”

Gonzalez will be facing the Phillies for the 25th time in his 11-year big league career. He is 11-7 with a 2.60 ERA and 1.13 WHIP against the Nationals’ divisional rival. Gonzalez threw five scoreless innings against Philadelphia on May 4.

The Phillies, who are 5-4 against the Nationals this season, have won two of the first three games against their divisional foe in the series. At 44-37, they are two games ahead of Washington for second place in the National League East. The Phillies were 28-53 through 81 games a season ago.

The Phillies hope Odubel Herrera’s bat heats up. The center fielder homered in Saturday’s 3-2 victory after going 2-for-28 in his previous seven games. Herrera is hitting .286 on the season with 14 homers and 46 RBIs.

The Nationals, meanwhile Khari Willis Jersey , went 9-16 in June and are 42-39 at the halfway mark of the season.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons lack the financial flexibility to be big spenders in free agency even after clearing salary cap room by restructuring quarterback Matt Ryan’s contract.The Falcons on Tuesday confirmed that $8.75 million of Ryan’s 2019 base salary will be paid as a signing bonus. The move creates $7 million in cap space, more than doubling the team’s available funds for free agency and the NFL draft.Teams can begin signing free agents on Wednesday at 4 p.m. EDT.Ryan signed a five-year, $150 million extension in 2018.The tweak to Ryan’s contract leaves Atlanta with approximately $13.5 million in cap space. The Falcons still rank only 27th in the NFL in available cap room, according to Spotrac.The adjustment to Ryan’s contract was first reported by ESPN.Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff could clear more cap space if he’s able to negotiate a new long-term deal for wide receiver Julio Jones or sign defensive tackle Grady Jarrett to a new contract.When Atlanta placed a $15.209 million franchise tag on Jarrett on March 4, Dimitroff said he still hoped to negotiate a long-term contract with the defensive tackle.The Falcons can negotiate with Jarrett until July 15. Jarrett, 25, had 52 tackles and set career highs with six sacks and three forced fumbles as the leader of Atlanta’s defensive front in 2018.By cutting cornerback Robert Alford, kicker Matt Bryant and defensive end Brooks Reed , the Falcons gained the approximate savings needed to pay Jarrett’s franchise tag.Ryan Josh Allen Jersey , Jarrett, Jones, cornerback Desmond Trufant, offensive tackle Jake Matthews and defensive end Vic Beasley all have cap figures of more than $11 million in 2019.Dimitroff said at last month’s NFL combine he believes the team’s highest-paid players deserve the salaries but acknowledged the top-heavy payroll can be challenging.“We have a group that we think deserves it and we know we’ve put ourselves on the line putting those types of players on our roster,” Dimitroff said, adding the Falcons “have some expensive people that we need to continue to look at, make sure they’re producing, which we feel they are, and make sure we build around them strategically so that we can continue to put together a team that we think and feel will be thriving in the NFL.”The Falcons finished 7-9 in their disappointing 2018 season Jawaan Taylor Jersey , only two years after their Super Bowl loss to New England. The losing season increases the pressure on Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn in 2019.Ryan, 33, posted numbers last season that compared with his 2016 MVP season. He passed for 4,924 yards with 35 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.Ryan was Dimitroff’s first draft pick as Atlanta’s new general manager in 2008.“Going back to when I first got this job in 2008, it was so important for us to have that quarterback in place, as we know,” Dimitroff said. “… To have Matt here has been great for us and we’ll continue to grow and build around him.”