Weekend Series Preview: Marlins @ Phillies, 8/7-8/9

The second place Miami Marlins visit the first place Phillies this weekend. The Marlins are 7 games behind the division leaders. Below, you will find pitching match ups and other key notes from this series.

Friday, 7:35pm. Ricky Nolasco (7-7, 5.00 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (7-5, 4.02 ERA). Nolasco in 10 career games against the Phillies is 4-3 with a 4.47 ERA and a .231 batting avg. against. He is 3-1 with a 3.20 ERA in 4 games at Citizens Bank Park. Chase Utley is 7-for-20 off of Nolasco, with a homer, 4 RBI and .985 OPS. Blanton is 3-0 in his career against Florida with a 3.18 ERA and .222 batting avg. against. Blanton's ERA over his last 12 starts is 2.33. During that stretch, 7 of those starts were at home...his ERA in those 7 home starts- 1.84!

Saturday, 7:05pm. Sean West (3-4, 4.91 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (7-6, 4.68 ERA). The rookie West has not faced the Phillies yet. West's ERA over his last 6 starts is 7.04. In four road starts this season, West is 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA. At home this season, Colbert is 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA in 11 starts. Cole's career ERA in Citizens Bank Park is 3.42. Jorge Cantu has 4 careers hits against Hamels...3 of those are homeruns.

Sunday, 1:35pm. Josh Johnson (10-2, 2.98 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (10-8, 5.55 ERA). Johnson is 3-1 in 8 career games against Philadelphia with a 3.66 ERA. In 9 starts against the NL East this year, Johnson is 4-0 with a 3.10 ERA with 50 strike outs and 13 walks in 58 innings. Moyer is 13-2 against the Marlins in his career with a 2.83 ERA over 15 starts. Moyer at home this year is 4-6 with a 7.16 ERA in 11 games.

Dan Uggla is a .185 career hitter (23-for-124) in 30 games played at Citizens Bank Park.

Marlins reliever Luis Ayala is 4-1 in 40 career games against the Phillies with a 1.50 ERA. He has held the Phillies to a .188 batting average against in 18 games at CBP.

Shane Victorino is batting .345 (79-for-229) at home this season.

Jimmy Rollins, in his last 31 games played, is batting .336 (45-for-134) with 7 homers, 24 RBI, 27 runs and 13 steals.

Marlins team ERA- 4.27
Phillies team ERA- 4.33

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!

Comments

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog