Skip to main content

Series Preview: Phillies at Braves, 4/20-4/22


The Phillies hit the road and will begin a 3-game series in Atlanta on Tuesday night. The 3-time defending National League East Division Champions from Philadelphia will get their first regular season look at the rookie with all the hype, Jason Heyward, who is batting .302 through his first 12 Major League games. Following a 7-1 start, the Phillies have lost three of their last four games, including their first series loss of the season, as they dropped 2 of 3 to the Marlins over the weekend. The Braves have a 7-5 record and are hoping to knock the champs down. Read on for details on the pitching match ups for this series and other key notes.


Tuesday, 7:10pm. Kyle Kendrick (0-0, 17.47 ERA) vs. Tommy Hanson (1-1, 2.38 ERA). Kendrick's time in the Phillies' starting rotation could be in jeopardy as the man he is filling in for, Joe Blanton, work his way back from an oblique injury. Kendrick has pitched just 5 2/3 inning in two starts this season. In 7 career games against Atlanta, Kyle is 4-1 with a 3.29 ERA. Hanson has faced the Phillies twice and he is 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA and .321 batting average against in those outings. In 12 starts at Turner Field, Hanson has a 7-3 record with a 3.15 ERA.

Wednesday, 7:10pm. Roy Halladay (3-0, 1.12 ERA) vs. Tim Hudson (1-0, 2.84 ERA). Halladay has allowed just 1 run in 10 1/3 innings against the Braves. Hudson is 4-6 with a 3.79 ERA in 15 career starts against the Phils. Ryan Howard is 12-for-34 (.353 avg) with 5 homers, 10 RBI and 7 walks against Hudson. In 64 career starts at Turner Field, Hudson has a 29-18 record with 3.56 ERA.

Thursday, 7:10pm. Jamie Moyer (1-1, 7.50 ERA) vs. Derek Lowe (3-0, 4.67 ERA). In 5 starts at Turner Field, Moyer is 1-2 with a 5.46 ERA. Troy Glaus against Moyer is 19-for-54 (.352 avg) with 5 homers and 15 RBI. In 14 regular season games against the Phillies, Lowe is 6-1 with a 2.56 ERA. Last year in 17 starts at Turner Field, Lowe had a 6-4 record with a 4.28 ERA. Raul Ibanez is 2-for-25 (.080 avg) against Lowe...both hits are homers. Ibanez along with Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, Juan Castro, Brian Schneider and Jayson Werth are a combined 12-for-96 (.120 avg) against Lowe.


Chipper Jones against Kendrick, Halladay & Moyer is 14-for-33 (.424 avg) with 4 homers and 10 RBI.

Brian McCann hit 5 of his 21 homers last season off Phillies pitchers. McCann is a career .304 hitter in 72 games against the Phils.

Ryan Howard has hit more homers (15) at Turner Field than any other road ballpark. In 42 games there, Howard is a .336 hitter and has a 1.129 OPS.

In 25 career games at Turner Field, Ryan Madson is 4-1 with 2 blown saves and a 1.91 ERA.

"Jay" Happ will miss a turn in the starting rotation, as he has been diagnosed with a strained flexor pronator muscle in his forearm. The team is taking a conservative approach with Happ, hoping he will return to action next week.

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

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

PhoulBallz Interview: Reading second baseman Jesmuel Valentin

Jesmuel Valentin, image- Jay Floyd Switch-hitting infielder Jesmuel Valentin has been a bit of an underrated contributor with the Double-A Reading Fightins. Heading into action on Friday, Valentin was batting .339 over his last 14 games. Overall this season, the 22-year-old is batting .282 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 64 games. Valentin, who plays mostly second base, but dabbles at shortstop a bit also, is the son of former big leaguer Jose Valentin . The Puerto Rico native was a supplementary round pick (51st overall) of the Dodgers in 2012. He was acquired by the Phils as part of the Roberto Hernandez trade in 2014. Recently, I spoke with Jesmuel about his team's success, growing up around the game and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -The Reading team has been great and you've contributed very nicely to the club's success. What are your thoughts on competition in the Eastern League this year? I just came here with the mindset that...

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Patreon Exclusive: Logan O'Hoppe answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early.  When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more.  Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one.  That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...