Skip to main content

Series Preview: Phillies at Nationals, 9/27-9/29

Already locked into a guaranteed playoff spot, the Phillies (93-63) stand just one win, or one Braves loss, away from clinching a team record 4th straight division title. Some have pointed out that it would be fitting to do it in game 1 of this week's series in Washington, as it would be the exact way the Phillies began the 2010 campaign, with Roy Halladay on the mound against the Nationals (67-89).

Washington will counter with lefty John Lannan, who has a 7.27 ERA in 2 home starts this season against Philadelphia.

Jimmy Rollins is expected to start at short stop for the Phillies for the first time since September 8th. Rollins has been sidelined in recent weeks with a hamstring issue. Rollins returned to action on Sunday, going 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter and playing the field.

The Phillies have won 10 of the 15 meetings with Washington to date this season. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and tons more information.


Monday, 7:05pm. Roy Haladay (20-10, 2.53 ERA) vs. John Lannan (8-7, 4.56 ERA). In 11 career games against Washington, Halladay is 7-1 with a 2.20 ERA. In Halladay's last 5 starts, he has posted a 4-1 record with a 4.41 ERA. Adam Dunn is 4-for-12 (.333 avg) with a homerun in his career against Halladay. In 10 career starts against the Phillies, Lannan is 0-7 with a 6.06 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Lannan is 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA. Raul Ibanez is 8-for-12 (.667 avg) with 2 HR in his career against Lannan.

Tuesday, 7:05pm. Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.80 ERA) vs. Jason Marquis (2-9, 7.18 ERA). Oswalt is 6-4 with a 2.27 ERA and a .199 batting avg. against in 13 road starts this season. In his last 7 starts, Oswalt has posted a 5-0 record with a 1.07 ERA. Nyjer Morgan is 6-for-18 (.333 avg) against Oswalt in his career. In his last 5 starts, Marquis is 2-2 with a 5.25 ERA. In 6 home starts this season, Marquis has a record of 0-5 with a 7.57 ERA. Marquis has a 5-7 record and a 5.60 ERA in 23 games against the Phillies. Chase Utley is 12-for-25 (.480 avg) in his career against Marquis.

Wednesday, 7:05pm. Joe Blanton (8-6, 4.94 ERA) vs. Ross Detwiler (1-2, 2.52 ERA). In 12 road starts this season, Blanton is 3-4 with a 5.82 ERA. Blanton has not lost since July 21st. Ivan Rodriguez is 4-5 against Joe Blanton this season. In 23 Major League games, the righty Detwiler is 2-8 with a 4.34 ERA. Jimmy Rollins is 6-for-9 (.667 avg) with 3 doubles in his career against Detwiler.


In 19 September games this season, Wilson Valdez has posted a .328 batting average.

Raul Ibanez is a career .327 hitter with 11 HR in 40 games played against the Nationals. In 23 September games this season, Ibanez has posted a .341 avg.

Ryan Zimmerman is batting .347 with 7 doubles and 2 homers in 13 games against the Phillies this season. Zimmerman may miss the series with a rib injury.

Former Phillie Joe Bisenius has allowed 1 earned run and struck out 3 batters in 4 innings of work, since being added as a September call up by Washington.

Ian Desmond is a .338 hitter with 5 doubles, 1 triple and 2 homeruns in 18 career games against the Phillies.

Phillies Team ERA- 3.72
Nationals Team ERA- 4.13

___________________________________________________

Photo- Associated Press

For updates and info, you can follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...