Skip to main content

Series Preview: Giants at Phillies, 8/17-8/19


In a series with playoff implications, the teams tied for the Wild Card lead
will face off for three games as the Giants (67-52) visit the Phillies (66-51) starting Tuesday night.

Chase Utley, fresh off a rehab assignment in Clearwater, Florida, is expected to be activated from the disabled list for this series. Utley was recovering from a fractured thumb. Ryan Howard (sprained ankle), who is also eligible to be activated from the disabled list is likely to play a rehab game or two prior to returning to the Phillies' lineup.

Colorado won just 1 of 3 regular season games in Philadelphia last year, before the Phillies defeated the Rockies 3-1 in the National League Division Series.

Since August 3rd, Giants starters are 0-7 with a 5.88 ERA in 12 games. Barry Zito will try to right the ship as he takes the mound in the series opener. Philadelphia will counter with Roy Oswalt, who will be making his second home start as a Phillie.

Read on for details on the pitching match ups and loads more information on this series.


Tuesday, 7:05pm. Barry Zito (8-6, 3.44 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (7-13, 3.34 ERA). In 4 career starts against the Phillies, Zito has a 3-1 record with a 3.38 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Zito has posted a 0-2 record with a 3.18 ERA. Placido Polanco is 9-for-13 (.692 avg) in his career against Zito. In 11 starts on the road this season, Zito is 2-4 with a 4.30 ERA. In 16 career starts against the Giants, Oswalt has a 5-8 record with a 3.59 ERA. Batters are hitting .214 against Oswalt in 3 starts as a Phillie. Aaron Rowand is 3-for-17 (.176 avg) in his career vs. Oswalt.

Wednesday, 7:05pm. Matt Cain (9-9, 3.11 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.69 ERA). In 4 career starts against the Phillies, Cain is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Cain is 2-1 with a 2.41 ERA. Chase Utley is 6-for-12 with a double and 3 HR against Cain in his career. In 6 career starts against the Giants, Blanton is 1-3 with a 5.08 ERA and a .301 batting average against. In his last 5 outings, Blanton is 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA. Pat Burrell is 2-for-9 (.222 avg) with 2 homers against Blanton in his career.

Thursday, 7pm. Jonathan Sanchez (8-8, 3.60 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (7-9, 3.33 ERA). Sanchez has a 2-1 record a 3.38 ERA in 8 games against the Phillies. Jayson Werth is 0-for-9 in his career against Sanchez. Hamels is 4-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 7 career starts against San Francisco. At home this season, Hamels is 4-4 with a 3.18 ERA. In his last 6 starts, Hamels is 0-2 with a 2.14 ERA.


In 57 games on the road this season, Pablo Sandoval is hitting .215 and has a .564 OPS. By comparison, he has a .327 batting average and a .903 OPS at home.

Aaron Rowand is a .396 career hitter in 17 games against the Phillies with 5 HR and 10 RBI.

In 14 games this month Aubrey Huff is batting .200 with no homers, after posting a .367 avg. with 8 homers in 27 games in July.

Jayson Werth has a career .243 batting avg. in 43 games against the Giants. Werth is batting .361 in 30 games since the All-star break.

In 22 home games this season, JC Romero has a 2.51 ERA. Since the All-star break, Romero has posted a 9.45 ERA in 14 outings.

Raul Ibanez has a career .191 batting average in 15 games against San Francisco. Ibanez is 0-for-18 in 4 games since his career high 18-game hitting streak ended.

Giants team runs- 518
Phillies team runs- 552

_________________________________________________________


Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.


BallHype: hype it up!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...