Skip to main content

NLCS Preview, Games 3 & 4: Dodgers at Phillies


Tied 1-1, the Los Angeles Dodgers come to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies in the 2009 National League Championship Series. Following an implosion by the Phillies' bullpen, in the 8th inning of game 2, that gave Los Angeles a win, ace pitcher Cliff Lee will get the start for the Phils, which could mean a night off for the team's relief corps, if Lee continues with his postseason dominance. Read on for details on the pitching match ups and other key notes for these games.


Sunday, 8:07pm. Hiroki Kuroda (8-7, 3.76 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (14-13, 3.22 ERA). Kuroda is 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA and a .100 batting avg. against in 3 games against the Phillies. Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins are a combined 0-for-19 off of Kuroda. Opponents are batting just .186 against Lee in two games this post season. Lee is 4-2 with a 2.21 ERA in 6 starts at Citizen Bank Park as a Phillie this year.

Monday, 8:07pm. Randy Wolf (11-7, 3.23 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (12-8, 4.05 ERA). In 27 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Wolf is 9-7 with a 4.30 ERA. Wolf was 7-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 16 road starts this season. Carlos Ruiz is 4-for-6 with a homer, 3 RBI and 2 walks against Wolf in his career. Blanton also started game 4 of the NLCS last year against the Dodgers...in that game he allowed 3 runs in 5 innings. Blanton was 7-4 with a 3.77 ERA in 16 home starts this season. Blanton has a 7.04 ERA in his last 4 outings, including 2 in relief this postseason.


Manny Ramirez is 1-for-9 in 2 games so far in this series. Ramirez is batting .227 overall in 5 games this postseason. Ramirez is 20-for-39 combined in his career against Lee & Blanton (.513 avg) with 3 homers and 14 RBI.

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier is hitting .450 (9-for-20) this postseason with a 1.522 OPS.

The Phillies are struggling to get going early in games this post season. In 6 games, they've only scored 2 total runs in innings 1-3, none of which have come in innings 2 or 3. That's only 2 runs in 18 innings.

Jimmy Rollins is batting just .214 (6-for-28) with a .464 OPS and no steals this postseason.

Ryan Howard is batting .409 for the Phillies this post season, with at least 1 RBI in each of the 6 games.

-----------------------------------

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!

BallHype: hype it up!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...