The 2nd place Phillies (30-26) will play host to the 4th Marlins (26-28) for a 3-game series starting Tuesday night. Each team has won 3 times out of the previous 6 meetings this season.
The Phillies have won just one of their last seven series played and hope to get things turned around as Kyle Kendrick takes the mound in the series opener. The Marlins will counter with Chris Volstad.
The Phillies' struggles (11 losses over the last 15 games) could be pinned on the slumps that usual offensive stand outs like Jayson Werth and Chase Utley are dealing with. In that 15-game span, Werth is batting .125, while Utley has a .140 average.
The Marlins are looking to get back over .500 by adding power hitting prospect Mike Stanton, who hit 21 homeruns in 52 games with Double-A level Jacksonville this season. Stanton is slated to make his Major League debut on Tuesday night.
Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups for this series, as well as loads of other stats.
Tuesday, 7:05pm. Chris Voldstad (3-6, 4.08 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 4.62 ERA). Volstad took a loss to the Phillies on May 28th, when he gave up 3 earned runs over 6 1/3 innings. In 7 career starts against the Phillies, Volstad has a 2-3 record and a 3.38 ERA. In 5 road starts this season, Volstad has posted a 1-3 record with a 5.83 ERA. Volstad has a 3.20 ERA over his last 7 starts. Ryan Howard is 8-for-18 (.444 avg) with 4 homeruns against Volstad. Kendrick earned the win in that May 28th games in Florida. In 10 career games against Florida, Kendrick is 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA. Kendrick's ERA over his last 6 starts is 2.79.
Wednesday, 7:05pm. Josh Johnson (6-2, 2.20 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (8-3, 2.03 ERA). Johnson has a 4-3 record with a 3.77 ERA in 12 career games against Philadelphia. Lefty batters are hitting .160 against the right-handed Johnson thus far in 2010. Johnson was the losing pitcher in Roy Halladay's perfect game. Halladay's ERA over his last 8 starts is 2.72. Dan Uggla is 4-for-10 with a triple and a homerun against Halladay.
Thursday, 7:05pm. Anibal Sanchez (5-3, 3.18 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (6-5, 3.98 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Sanchez is 3-5 with a 4.93 ERA. On the road this year, Sanchez has a .310 batting average against compared to a .223 batting average against at home. Jayson Werth is 2-for-16 (.125 avg) with 10 strike outs against Sanchez. Moyer's ERA is 2.76 over his last 6 starts. In 5 home starts this year, Moyer has posted a 3-2 record with a 3.41 ERA and a .188 batting average against. Ronny Paulino is 10-for-24 (.417 avg) against Jamie Moyer.
Hanley Ramirez's Home/Road batting average splits- .322/.240. Ramirez has hit 32 homers since the start of the 2009 season...just 2 of them are against left-handed pitchers.
Jorge Cantu has just 1 homerun in his last 28 games.
Ryan Howard is a career .309 hitter and has a 1.057 OPS in 86 games against the Marlins. Howard is 6-for-12 (.500 avg) off of Marlins reliever Jorge Sosa with a double and 2 homers.
Raul Ibanez is 4-for-29 (.138 avg) against the 3 Florida starting pitchers scheduled for this series. At home this season, Ibanez is 19-for-86 (.221 avg).
In 28 career games against the Marlins, Brad Lidge has a 1-1 record, 13 saves, 1 blown save and a 2.30 ERA. In 87 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Lidge has a 3.90 ERA.
Marlins team batting avg.- .259
Phillies team batting avg.- .258
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