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Series Preview: Phils visit Cincinnati

The Phillies (20-16) begin a 3 game series in Cincinnati tonight against the Reds (20-17). Read on for pitching match ups and plenty of additional notes.

Tuesday, 7:10pm. Cole Hamels (1-2, 5.04 ERA) vs. Johnny Cueto (4-1, 1.93 ERA). Cole was moved up a day ahead of Jamie Moyer, which will allow Hamels to face the Yankees this coming Sunday. In his career against the Reds, Cole is 3-0 in 4 games, with a 0.60 ERA and a .139 batting avg. against. Cole's ERA in his last 4 starts is 2.18. Reds players Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips and Alex Gonzalez combine for a 0.48 batting avg (1 for 21) against Colbert. Cueto has never faced the Phillies in his short career. At home this season, Cueto is 1-1 in 3 starts, with a 2.70 ERA. Cueto is third in the NL in ERA.

Wednesday, 7:10pm. Jamie Moyer (3-3, 8.15 ERA) vs. Micah Owings (3-4, 3.95 ERA). Moyer, in 7 career appearances against the Reds, is 1-3, in 28 innings pitched, with a 5.46 ERA. Owings has a career 2-0 record and 2.57 ERA in 4 games. Owings has a 5.61 career ERA in 3 appearances at Great American Ballpark. Pedro Feliz, Carlos Ruiz and Chase Utley are a combined 9-for-24 (.375 avg) against Owings...while Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins are a combined 2-for-16 (.125 avg) off of him.

Thursday, 12:35pm. Joe Blanton (1-3, 6.86 ERA) vs. Aaron Harang (3-4, 3.44 ERA). Blanton has 1 career start against Cincy...8 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 5 k's, 0 walks. In 3 starts this month, Blanton has a 5.21 ERA. Harang at home, in 4 starts, is 2-2 with a 2.77 ERA. Harang has 8 career appearances against the Phillies...his record is 1-2, with a 6.15 ERA. Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz combine for a .119 batting avg (5-for-42) against Harang. Greg Dobbs, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins have a combined .409 avg. (18 for 44) against Harang.


The Phillies on the road- 12 wins, 4 losses.
The Reds at home- 7 wins, 9 losses.

Phillies team ERA- 5.39.
Reds team ERA- 3.96.

Jayson Werth is a career .071 hitter against the Reds in 8 games.

Matt Stairs is a career .325 hitter against the Reds in 53 games with a 1.090 OPS.

In 16 career games at Great American Ballpark, Chase Utley is a .309 hitter, with 6 homers and a 1.142 OPS. In 8 games last year, Chase hit .367 against the Reds.

Comments

Alex C said…
Considering Stairs' numbers against Cinci and the fact that Cueto is a righty, I wonder if we'll see an early substitution if Jayson is struggling at the plate.

Guess a lot of it will depend on the performance of the rest of the line-up, and more importantly, Cole.

It will be interesting to see what Raul does against these guys, he's 2/6 with 1 HR and 4 RBI against the Reds.
Amanda said…
I remember that brawl. Lieby took out the batter with a tackle.

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