Series Preview: Phillies at Marlins, 9/22-9/23

The Phillies (87-61) are in Florida for a three game series with the second place (tied, 80-70) Marlins. The Phillies' magic number stands at 6 with 6 games against the Marlins remaining among their 14 games left in the season. Read on for details on pitching match ups as well as other key notes on this series.

Tuesday, 4:10pm. Joe Blanton (10-7, 3.97 ERA) vs. Josh Johnson (15-4, 3.01 ERA). Blanton in his career against Florida is 3-1 with a 3.42 ERA in 4 starts. Nick Johnson is 7-for-13 (.538 avg) against Blanton with 1 HR and 3 RBI and 3 walks. Josh Johnson is 4-1 in his career against Philadelphia with a 3.38 ERA in 9 games. At home this season, Josh Johnson is 7-2 with a 2.45 ERA in 15 starts. In 14 starts against NL East opponents this season, Josh Johnson is 7-1 with a 3.11 ERA and 80 K's in 86 2/3 innings pitched.

Tuesday, after first game. Jamie Moyer (12-9, 5.05 ERA) vs. Anibal Sanchez (2-7, 4.50 ERA). Moyer is 13-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 16 games against the Marlins in his career. Moyer is 8-0 with a 1.37 ERA in 8 starts at Land Shark Stadium. Cody Ross is 6-for-11 (.545 avg) this season off of Moyer, but is only 9-for-37 (.243 avg) off of Moyer in his career. Sanchez has only won once since April 16th (11 starts). Ryan Howard is 4-for-8 off of Sanchez with a HR and 5 walks.

Wednesday, 7:10pm. Cole Hamels (10-9, 4.07 ERA) vs. Rick Vandenhurk (2-2, 4.24 ERA). Colbert is 2-5 in 10 career starts against the Marlins with a 4.19 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Hamels is 3-1 with a 1.43 ERA. Cole's record in even numbered months this season- 1-7 (w/ 4.76 ERA). His record in odd numbered months this season is 9-2 (w/ 3.50 ERA). Vandenhurk is 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA over his last 4 starts.

Pedro Feliz is batting .226 since the all star break and is in the midst of a 25-for-132 slump (.189 avg). In 11 games vs. the Marlins this season, Feliz is batting .279 (12-for-43) with a homer and 7 RBI.

Chase Utley has more RBI against the Marlins (76) than he does against any other opponent. In 92 career games against Florida, Utley has a .316 avg (108-for-342) and a .967 OPS.

In 11 games against the Phillies this season, Hanley Ramirez is batting .354 (17-for-48) with no HR. Ramirez hit 6 homers against the Phillies in 2007 (18 games), but has only hit one against them since then (26 games).

Phillies team ERA- 4.08

Marlins team ERA- 4.33

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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. ...

A Letter to This Guy

Dear Cardinals fan, When a homerun ball is hit in your direction, do not close your eyes and raise both hands far above your head, leaving your face/chest/neck/head defenseless. Jayson Werth long balls to the cranium are probably not very comfortable. Next time, let the guy in the pajama pants behind you take a crack at it. He may not know how to dress well, but he keeps his eyes open in the face of killer shots from World Champion outfielders. Love, PhoulBallz.com PS- Stay hot.

Kendrick & LaGrossa- Second Phils/Survivor Marriage

On Saturday, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick married 3-time Survivor contestant and former Flyers employee Stephenie LaGrossa. The couple exchanged vows in front of 105 guests at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Their special day featured many personalized aspects, including cocktail hour snacks modeled in the fashion of mini Philly cheesesteaks, as well as the couple's two dogs, Bebe and Champ, serving as flower girl and ring bearer during the ceremony. The pets wore a white dress and a tuxedo, respectively. Kendrick is now the second Phillies pitcher to marry a former contestant of the CBS reality competition program, as lefty Cole Hamels wedded Heidi Strobel, who appeared on the sixth season of Survivor, in 2007. _________________________________________________________________ Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter, for updates, stats and info, by clicking HERE . Photos- People.com

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