Skip to main content

Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, 9/20-9/22


The Philadelphia Phillies (89-61) and Atlanta Braves (86-64) will meet 6 more times over the final 12 games of the season to potentially decide the winner of the National League East. The Phils sport a 3 game lead over Atlanta, and could lock in their strangle hold on the division as a 3-game series starts in Philadelphia on Monday night.

Atlanta has won 5 of the last 6 meetings with Philadelphia, but the Phillies have gone 18-4 since being swept at home by the Astros last month. A key of the Phils' strong run is their trio of ace starting pitchers. Since the Phillies acquired Roy Oswalt from Houston July 29th, Oswalt, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels have posted a combined 16-6 record. The three hurlers have also combined for a 2.27 ERA in August and September.

The Braves, who have dropped 9 of 18 games this month, will send Jair Jurrjens to the mound to change the team's fortunes. The Phillies will counter with left-hander Cole Hamels, who has a 6.39 ERA in 3 starts against the Braves this season.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups for this series as well as plenty more statistics and information.


Monday, 7:05pm. Jair Jurrjens (7-6, 4.64 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (11-10, 3.01 ERA). Jurrjens has been experiencing knee trouble and could be skipped. In 9 career starts against the Phillies, the righty Jurrjens has a 3-3 record with a 2.56 ERA. Jurrjens has posted a 1-4 record with a 5.81 ERA in 10 road starts this season. In 5 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Jurrjens is 2-1 with a 1.87 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Hamels is 4-0 with a 0.76 ERA. In 17 career starts against Atlanta, Hamels is 8-5 with a 4.25 ERA. Omar Infante is 10-for-26 (.385 avg) against Hamels in his career.

Tuesday, 7:05pm. Mike Minor (3-1, 5.84 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (19-10, 2.49 ERA). The rookie Minor is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in 3 road games thus far. Minor, a lefty, was Atlanta's first round draft pick in 2009. In 4 career games against the Braves, Halladay has a 3-0 record with a 0.63 ERA. At home this season, Halladay is 11-5 with a 2.12 ERA in 17 starts.

Wednesday, 7:05pm. Tommy Hanson (10-11, 3.62 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.90 ERA). In 15 road starts this season, Hanson is 5-6 with a 3.44 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Hanson is 2-2 with a 4.06 ERA. In 13 starts since the All-star break, Hanson has posted a 2-6 record with a 2.98 ERA. In his last 9 starts, Oswalt is 7-0 with a 1.57 ERA. In 7 career starts against Atlanta, Oswalt is 0-3 with a 7.58 ERA.


Omar Infante is batting .323 in 10 games against the Phillies this season. Infante's .337 batting would rank second in the league, but he does not currently have enough plate appearances to qualify.

Jason Heyward's 9 steals are the highest total on the Braves team.

In 11 games against the Phillies this season, Brian McCann is batting .229. McCann is 1-for-15 (.067 avg) in his career against JC Romero.

In 62 games since the All-star break, Jayson Werth is batting .304 with a .930 OPS.

In 28 career games against the Braves, JC Romero has a 1.19 ERA and a .110 batting average against.

Placido Polanco is just 1-for-14 (.071 avg) in his career against Braves closer Billy Wagner. In 18 games this month, Polanco has posted a .247 batting average.

Braves Team ERA- 3.59
Phillies Team ERA- 3.76

________________________________________________________

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Q&A with Justin De Fratus

Justin De Fratus is a 21 year old right handed relief pitcher with the Lakewood BlueClaws. An 11th round draft choice in 2007, Justin had been a starter in his first two seasons in the Phillies organization. Informed this spring that he'd be switched from the rotation to the bullpen, Justin has excelled and become one of the most reliable pitchers on the Lakewood staff. In 19 games this season, Justin is 2-0, with a 1.83 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 39 1/3 innings pitched. PhoulBallz.com spoke with Justin De Fratus just last night. Here's how that went down... Justin, South Atlantic League all star selections were announced this week, and you were named to the team. Can I get your reaction to that? How excited were you? Very excited about it. Well, especially this year because I just got moved to the bullpen, so this is a new role for me. So, if anything, it's reassuring that I'm doing my job. It's the first time in my pro career that I've been selected as an all star...

All in the Family

22-year-old pitching prospect Nick Hernandez's father helps him stay fit during the off-season Phillies pitching prospect Nick Hernandez spent much of the 2010 regular season on the disabled list with an injury to his throwing shoulder. The 6'4", 215 pound lefty, who was named a mid-season South Atlantic League all-star with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, attempted comebacks twice during the season, making rehab outings for the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, but experienced setbacks that curtailed his return to the mound and kept him from helping his teammates lock down a second consecutive league championship for Lakewood. In 8 starts with the BlueClaws last season, the 12th round draft pick from 2009 posted a 3-1 record with a 1.61 ERA and averaged 7 innings per start. Hernandez's strength is throwing a lot of strikes and he owes some of his success to his father, also named Nick (Dad's full first name is spelled Nicolas, while son's name is spell...

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...