Skip to main content

Series Preview: Phillies @ D-Backs 4/23-4/25


The Phillies' (10-5) road trip continues, as they travel to Arizona for 3 games against the DiamondBacks (6-9). Arizona is struggling, as they won just one game over their last seven outings. Their relievers have a 12.42 ERA in that span. The first place Phillies will face two familiar pitchers, Kris Benson and Rodrigo Lopez, who have both been in the Phils' system in recent years, as well as a manager who is familiar, AJ Hinch, who once caught for the Phillies. The Phillies hope to build on recent strong starting pitching that has posted a 0.58 ERA in the past 4 games.

Read ahead for information on pitching matchups and more.


Friday, 9:40pm. Cole Hamels (2-1, 3.86 ERA) vs. Kris Benson (0-1, 3.00). Hamels is 2-0 in 3 starts against Arizona with a 1.74 ERA. In 13 2/3 innings pitched at Chase Field, Arizona batters have a .146 batting avg. against Colbert. Mark Reynolds is 0-for-6 in his career against Hamels. Benson is 5-0 with a 3.22 ERA in 9 career starts against Philadelphia. Prior to his season debut with Arizona this season, Benson appeared in 8 games last season for the Rangers. Before that, he had not pitched in the Majors since 2006, after suffering a torn rotator cuff.

Saturday, 8:10pm. Nelson Figueroa (1-1, 2.45) vs. Ian Kennedy (0-1, 5.65 ERA). Figueroa will make his first start for the Phillies 2001. Figueroa, in 4 games against the D-Backs, is 0-2 with an 8.68 ERA. Mark Reynolds is 2-for-2 with 2 homers against Figueroa. The righty Kennedy was once a Yankees prospect who pitched for the Trenton Thunder. Kennedy, a rookie, has just 3 starts in his Major League career.

Sunday, 4:10pm. Kyle Kendrick (0-0, 7.24 ERA) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (1-0, 3.50 ERA). Kendrick threw 8 shut out innings in his last outing against the Braves, after giving up 6 earned runs in 1 2/3 innings to the Nationals the previous week. In 2 games against Arizona, Kendrick has no decisions and a 5.11 ERA. In 7 games for the Phillies last season, Lopez was 3-1 with a 5.77 ERA. Ryan Howard is 3-for-5 off of Lopez with a homerun. Juan Castro is 4-for-9 (.444 avg) with 2 doubles against Lopez.


Second baseman Kelly Johnson is a career .245 hitter in 50 games against the Phillies with 7 homers. He is 3-for-17 (.176 avg) in his career against Hamels.

Mark Reynolds is batting .231 in 8 home games this year with a .412 on-base % (6 hits, 7 walks).

Chase Utley is a .298 hitter with 7 homeruns in 32 career games against Arizona. In 17 games at Chase Field, the man by the same name only has a .220 batting average.

Through 15 games this season, Raul Ibanez is batting .200 with no homers and 7 RBI. Through 15 games last season, Ibanez had a .339 avg, with 5 homers and 11 RBI.

Since his first game batting leadoff, when he had 4 hits in 5 at bats and 3 runs scored, Shane Victorino is 5-for-30 (.167 avg) with 3 runs scored.

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

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.

Comments

Jay Floyd said…
Updated w/ correct game time for Sat. night.

Popular posts from this blog

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...

ProspectNation 2011: #7 Jiwan James- OF

Switch-hitting Phillies prospect Jiwan James earned plenty of recognition last season, as he set the Class A Lakewood hitting streak record at 24 straight games and led the team in runs scored with 85. James, who will turn 22 years old in April, has reported early to Clearwater, well ahead of the March 1st report date for minor league spring training camp. Drafted out of high school as a pitcher in the 22nd round of the 2007 amateur draft, James made the switch to the outfield in 2009 where he played in 30 games with the short season Williamsport Crosscutters. As a member of the Cutters, James batted .264 with a homer and 13 RBI. The positional switch was necessary due to a lingering arm issue that James dealt with during 2008. In 2010, while helping the Lakewood BlueClaws lock down a second straight South Atlantic League title, James, who stands 6-feet-4-inches tall and weighs around 185 pounds, shined batting at the top of the order in manager Mark Parent's lineup. In the longes...

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