Series Preview: D-Backs at Phillies 7/27-7/29

Riding a 5-game win streak, the Phillies (53-46) will play host to the Diamondbacks (37-62) for a 3-game series beginning Tuesday night.

The highlight of the series will be a pitching match up set to feature pair of pitchers who threw no-hitters this season. Arizona's Edwin Jackson tossed a no-no against the Rays on June 25th. Phillies ace Roy Halladay threw a perfect game against the Marlins on May 29th. The two history makers will face each other in the second game of the series on Wednesday night.

The defending National League champions have swept back-to-back 4-game series at home against the Reds and Rockies. The 8 wins are the Phils' longest home winning streak since 1991, when they won 16 straight in Philadelphia.

Read ahead for analysis on the pitching match ups and other key details from this series.

Tuesday, 7:05pm. Rodrigo Lopez (5-9, 4.58 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.40 ERA). In 9 road starts this season, RoLo is 2-4 with a 4.27 ERA. Brian Schneider is 4-for-7 (.571 avg) with 2 doubles against Lopez in his career. In 4 July starts this season, Lopez is 1-3 with a 5.32 ERA. In 10 home starts in 2010, Hamels is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA. In 4 career starts against Arizona, Hamels has posted a 2-1 record with a 3.38 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Hamels is 1-1 with a 1.47 ERA.

Wednesday, 7:05pm. Edwin Jackson (6-9, 5.01 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (11-8, 2.28 ERA). Jackson has not faced the Phillies in regular season action before. In 9 road starts this year, Jackson is 3-4 with a 4.25 ERA. In 4 July starts, Jackson is 1-3 with a 6.85 ERA. In 2 career starts against Arizona, Halladay is 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA. In his last 6 starts overall, Halladay is 2-2 with a 1.91 ERA. Halladay has posted a 2-2 record with a 1.07 ERA in his past 5 home starts.

Thursday, 7:05pm. Joe Saunders (6-10, 4.62 ERA with the Angels) vs. Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 4.60 ERA). In one career start against Philadelphia, Saunders has a win in which he allowed 2 earned runs in 7 innings. Raul Ibanez is 7-for-20 (.350 avg) with a double and a homer against Saunders. In 3 career starts against Arizona, Kendrick has no decisions with a 6.23 ERA and a .355 batting avg. against. In 9 home starts this season, Kendrick is 3-2 with a 5.14 ERA. Right-handed opponents are hitting .225 against Kendrick, while lefties have posted a .320 batting average against him.

Arizona slugger Mark Reynolds is a .271 hitter with 5 doubles and 6 homeruns in 19 career games against the Phillies.

Justin Upton is a .375 hitter in 10 games against the Phillies. During his current 12-game hitting streak, Upton is 21-for-48 (.438 avg) with 8 doubles and 2 homeruns.

In 10 career games at Citizens Bank Park, D-Backs reliever Chad Qualls is 2-1 with a 7.88 ERA and a .400 batting average against.

In 6 outings since Brad Lidge's last blown save, Lidge has strung together 5 saves and a 3.17 ERA while walking 8 batters and striking out 6.

In 13 games batting 3rd in the Phillies' lineup, Raul Ibanez is 19-for-54 (.352 avg) with 2 homers and 10 RBI. Batting elsewhere in the batting order, Ibanez has posted a .238 avg.

D-Backs team ERA- 5.27

Phillies team ERA- 3.99

____________________________________________

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.

Stats to Ponder: Jimmy Rollins Edition

J-Roll has batted under .200 for a calendar month twice in his career. In April 2004, Rollins went 13-for-71, for a .183 average. The following month, Rollins went 30-for-107, which is a .280 average. And in August 2005, Rollins went 22-for-117, for a .188 average. The month that followed saw Rollins go 49-for-122 for a .402 average. Rollins is batting .171 so far in May 2009. Improvement is not far away for Jimmy. The Phillies are 10-2 in games this year which Rollins scores at least 1 run. The Phillies are 4-12 in games which Rollins does not score. Jimmy Rollins in 6 games against the Braves this year is batting .071 (2-for-28). In 2008 Rollins batted .284 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2007 Rollins batted .347 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2006 Rollins batted .367 against the Braves in 18 games. Jimmy Milestone Watch: 6 more RBI and Rollins will tie Scott Rolen for 25th all time in Phillies RBI leaders. 7 more triples and Rollins will tie Richie Ashburn for 4th all time i...

Crawford's Chronicles: JP Crawford talks Spring Training

JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd Entering this year as the widely regarded top prospect in the Phillies organization, J.P. Crawford will be taking time each week to provide insight directly from inside spring training in Clearwater, FL, right here on PhilliesNation.com. Crawford, 20, was named the top positional prospect in two leagues (Class A South Atlantic League and Class A Advanced Florida State League) last year, when he combined, in 123 games, to post a .285 average, 11 homers, 48 RBI and 24 stolen bases. He also represented the Phils organization in the MLB All-Star Futures Game last season. As the 2015 campaign approaches, the six-foot-two 180-pound lefty batter is expected to reach the Double-A level and continue to prove why the Phillies selected him in the first round of the 2013 draft. In this initial installment of our weekly check-in with J.P., he shares thoughts on a variety of topics, including his exclusion from big league camp, which member of the big leagu...

Phreestyle Battle & Notes

Unrelated to baseball, really...but it's fun and our Phils are off today. This new kid on the hip hop scene, Charles Hamilton , whose single Brooklyn Girl is ripping up radio and video count downs, was at PSU for a performance recently. A freestyle battle ensued, and as you'll see, the Penn State student held his own. Stay tuned for the ending. It's the best part. Here are some random Phillies-in-idle baseball thoughts and notes- Colbert Hamels is slated to make his Grapefruit League debut tomorrow vs. Team Canada. Shane Victorino is going to wear #50 on his jersey for Team USA, a nod to Hawaii Five-O. Brad Lidge is likely to not see game action till next week, after he throws some more bullpen sessions and works out the tightness in his forearm. Albert Pujols is declaring "respect for his country" as reasoning for sitting out of the Cardinals' exhibition this week against Team Dominican Republic. He told reporters, "I don’t want to play against them...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog