The Phillies (47-40) hope to continue rolling with their pre-all-star break momentum, as they are fresh off a 4 game sweep of the Central Division leading Cincinnati Reds and possess a 17-8 record against that division as they head to Chicago to face the Central's 4th place Cubs (39-50).
At Wrigley Field in 2009, the Phillies swept the Cubs in a 3 game series that received much publicity when a Chicago fan in the outfield bleachers threw a beer into the face of Philadelphia outfielder Shane Victorino, as he made a catch of a fly ball.
Lefty veteran Jamie Moyer will take the mound in game 1, for the defending National League champion Phillies. Moyer broke into the Majors with the Cubs and made his MLB debut at Wrigley Field against the Phillies in 1986. The Cubs will counter with Ryan Dempster, who has not received much run support at home lately (Cubs have scored 3 or fewer runs in 6 of his last 7 starts at Wrigley).
Read on for details on the pitching match ups as well as loads more information on this series.
Thursday, 8:05pm. Jamie Moyer (9-8, 4.51) vs. Ryan Dempster (7-7, 3.61 ERA). Moyer has posted a 3-2 record with a 3.41 ERA over his past 5 starts. In 8 career starts against the Cubs, Moyer is 3-2 with a 4.27 ERA. Derrek Lee is 5-for-13 (.385 avg) with 3 doubles against Moyer. Dempster has posted a 3-2 record with a 3.27 ERA over his last 5 starts. In 8 home starts this season, Dempster has a 3-4 record with a 3.49 ERA. In 22 career outings vs. the Phillies, Dempster is 4-4 with 2 saves and a 5.05 ERA. Injured Phillies Chase Utley and Placido Polanco are a combined 16-for-31 (.516 avg) against Dempster.
Friday, 2:20pm. Joe Blanton (3-5, 6.41 ERA) vs. Ted Lilly (3-8, 4.08 ERA). In 6 road starts this season, Blanton is 1-3 with a 7.68 ERA. Blanton has no decisions and a 2.75 ERA in 3 starts against the Cubs. Alfonso Soriano is 6-for-16 (.375 avg) with 2 doubles and a triple against Blanton. Lilly is 1-4 with a 6.43 ERA in 5 career starts against the Phillies. Lilly is 2-3 with a 6.91 over his last 5 starts. In 6 days starts this year, Lilly is 0-3 with a 6.08 ERA.
Saturday, 1:05 ERA. Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.78 ERA) vs. Randy Wells (4-7, 4.61 ERA). Hamels has posted a 1-2 record with a 3.86 ERA over his last 5 starts. In 5 career starts vs. the Cubs, Hamels is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA. Alfonso Soriano is 5-for-26 (.192 avg) with 3 homers against Hamels. In 9 home starts this year, Wells is 2-3 with a 4.61 ERA. In his last 9 starts this season, Wells has posted a 1-5 record with a 5.32 ERA.
Sunday, 8:05pm. Roy Halladay (10-7, 2.19 ERA) vs. Tom Gorzelanny (4-5, 3.16 ERA). In his last 5 starts, Halladay is 2-2 with a 1.76 ERA. In his career against the Cubs, Halladay is 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA. Former Phillie Marlon Byrd is 5-for-13 (.385 avg) with 2 doubles and a triple against Halladay in his career. In 8 home games this season, Gorzelanny has a 1-3 record with a 4.24 ERA. Since posting a 4.55 ERA in May, Gorzelanny has a combined 2.02 ERA in June & July.
In 60 career games against the Cubs, Jimmy Rollins is a .234 hitter. Rollins is 16-for-77 (.208 avg) since returning from his most recent DL stint. Rollins hit 3 homeruns in 6 games against the Cubs last season.
Jayson Werth has 2 RBI in his last 16 games. In 14 career games at Wrigley Field, Werth is a .333 hitter with 4 homeruns and 14 RBI.
In 15 career games against the Phillies, Kosuke Fukudome is a .233 hitter with a .675 OPS.
Derrek Lee is 0-for-13 in his career against Phillies closer Brad Lidge.
Phillies team runs scored- 410
Cubs team runs scored- 359
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