Series Preview: Marlins at Phillies, 4/15-4/17

Fresh off a pair of exceptional pitching outings in which Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee tossed the first back to back complete game for the Phillies (9-3) in 12 years, the 4-time defending National League East Division champions return home for a three-game series against the Florida Marlins (7-5).

Against the Nationals on the road this week, Halladay and Lee were strong on the mound. The Marlins will be fortunate to miss each of those pitching stars, but will attempt to take down the balance of the Phillies' well regarded pitching rotation.

In game one of the series, Roy Oswalt looks to remain undefeated in his career at Citizens Bank Park. He will face veteran hurler Javier Vazquez, who hasn't had the same sort of success in Philadelphia.

Read ahead for details on that pitching match up and the others, as well as loads more statistics from this weekend match up.

Friday, 7:05PM. Javier Vazquez (1-1, 8.64 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (2-0, 2.25 ERA). The righty Vazquez is 12-8 with a 4.27 ERA in 28 career starts against the Phillies. In 4 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Vazquez has a 1-2 record with a 6.08 ERA. Ross Gload is 16-for-35 (.457 avg) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, a HR and 7 RBI against Vazquez in his career. In 14 career starts against Florida, Oswalt is 6-4 with a .377 ERA and a .257 batting average against. In 14 career games at Citizens Bank Park, including the postseason, Oswalt is 11-0 with a 2.21 ERA. Hanley Ramirez is 11-for-28 (.393 avg) with 3 HR in his career against Oswalt.

Saturday, 7:05PM. Anibal Sanchez (0-1, 6.97 ERA) vs, Cole Hamels (1-1, 5.59 ERA). The 27-year-old Sanchez is 3-7 with a 5.93 ERA in 11 career starts against the Phillies. In 7 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Sanchez has a 1-5 record with an 8.73 ERA. Placido Polanco is 5-for-10 (.500 avg) with a double, a triple and a HR in his career against Sanchez. In 15 career starts against the Marlins, Hamels has a 4-7 record with a 3.73 ERA. In 18 home starts last season, Hamels posted a 3.14 ERA. Chris Coghlan is 6-for-13 (.462 avg) with 2 homers in his career against Hamels.

Sunday, 1:35PM. Chris Volstad (0-1, 5.59 ERA) vs Joe Blanton (0-1, 10.45 ERA). The right-handed Volstad psoted a 5.73 ERA in 15 road starts last season. In 10 career starts against the Phils, Volstad is 2-3 with a 4.45 ERA. Raul Ibanez is 10-for-19 (.526 avg) with a triple and 3 homeruns in his career against the Marlins' 2005 top draft pick Volstad. Blanton is 5-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 8 career starts against the Marlins. Opponents are batting .378 against Blanton this season.

Hanley Ramirez is batting .214 with a .603 OPS against righty pitchers this season, while he has posted a .364 average and a .909 OPS against lefties.

In 22 career games against the Phillies, Chris Coghlan has a .357 batting average. Against the Phillies' three scheduled starting pitchers for this series, Coghlan is 16-for-27 (.444 avg).

Marlins closer Leo Nunez has 1 blown save in 8 chances against the Phillies. Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins and Ben Francisco are a combined 1-for-15 (.067 avg) against Nunez.

Ryan Howard ranks 3rd in the National League and leads the Phillies with 13 RBI.

In 44 career games against the Marlins, Raul Ibanez is a .325 hitter with 7 HR. Ibanez posted a .367 average in 18 games against Florida last season.

In the last week, Carlos Ruiz is 10-for-20 (.500 avg) with 2 HR and 6 RBI.

Marlins team batting average- .264.
Phillies team batting average- .306.

__________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Justin De Fratus Interview Excerpts- May, 2011

Armed with a 2-0 record, 3 saves and a 2.95 ERA in 15 games this season for the Double A Reading Phillies, Justin De Fratus continues to make strides toward his goal of reaching the Major Leagues. Ranked as a top 10 prospect within the Phillies system last off-season, the 23-year-old De Fratus was in camp with the Phillies during big league spring training. In 3 games with the Phils during the Grapefruit League season, De Fratus allowed 4 earned runs in 4 innings and took a loss. He did strike out an impressive 5 batters in those 4 frames, however. Drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 amateur draft, De Fratus stood out as a force in relief last year for both the High A Clearwater Threshers and the R-Phils. In 49 combined games at the two levels, De Fratus posted a 3-0 record with 21 saves and a 1.94 ERA. De Fratus continued his excellent 2011 by pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American qualifiers held in Puerto Rico, helping the Americans finish with a 9-1 record. He also posted out...

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against. The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball w...

Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, August 6-8

The Braves (62-46) travel to Philadelphia to begin a three-game series with the Phillies (49-59) on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. In the past month, the two clubs have faced each other in two separate series, with the Braves winning all six of the contests. Atlanta’s recent dominance over the Phils is the opposite of how things went last season, when the Phillies handed the Braves six losses toward the end of the 2011 season. Those defeats shut the door on Atlanta’s postseason hopes. Read ahead for notes on the pitching the match ups and additional statistical information on this series. Monday, 7:05 PM. Ben Sheets (3-1, 1.46 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (6-6, 3.63 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Sheets has a 3-4 record with a 4.50 ERA. Ty Wigginton is 12-for-36 (.333 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Sheets. The righty Sheets was the Brewers' 1st round draft pick in 1999. In his last 5 starts, Worley has a 2-1 record with a 4.06 ERA. In 9 home s...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog