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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

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