Skip to main content

Series Preview: Phillies at Diamondbacks, 4/25-4/27


Having lost their second closer to an injury, the Phillies will look to continue rolling through National League opponents as they continue their road trip and head to Arizona for a three-game series.

On Sunday, the Phillies placed righty hurler Jose Contreras on the disabled list with a strained elbow in his throwing arm. Contreras was 5-for-5 in save opportunities this season in a substitute role for primary closer Brad Lidge, who has not pitched this season due to a strained shoulder.

The Phillies have called up Mike Stutes, the Phillies' 11th round draft pick in 2008, to fill the void on the roster.

Ryan Madson, who saved two games for the Phillies in San Diego in the Phillies' last series, will take over the closer duties in Contreras' place.

The Phillies (15-6), who sport the best record in Major League Baseball, will take on the Diamondbacks (8-12), who are in fourth place, 5 1/2 games behind first place Colorado in the NL West division. The D-Backs won 2 of 3 meetings with the Phillies in Arizona last season.

Read ahead for analysis on the pitching match ups and loads more statistics and details for this series.


Monday, 9:40PM. Cliff Lee (2-1, 3.91 ERA) vs. Ian Kennedy (2-1, 5.64 ERA). In 2 career starts against the D-Backs, Lee has a 2-0 record with a 2.57 ERA and a .197 batting average against. Lee is 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA in two road starts this season. In Kennedy's lone career starts against Philadelphia, he allowed 2 earned runs over 8 innings and did not earn a decision. Kennedy allowed 9 earned runs in 3 innings against St. Louis in his last home start. Kennedy, a right-hander, is 5-5 with a 4.03 ERA in 17 career starts at Chase Field. Placido Polanco is 1-for-7 (.143 avg) in his career against Kennedy.

Tuesday, 9:40PM. Roy Oswalt (3-0, 1.87 ERA) vs. Daniel Hudson (0-4, 5.92 ERA). In 12 career starts against Arizona, Oswalt has a 9-2 record with a 1.91 ERA. In 4 career starts at Chase Field, Oswalt has a 4.15 ERA. Chris Young is 6-for-15 (.400 avg) with a double and a homerun in his career against Oswalt. In 8 career starts at Chase Field, Hudson is 3-3 with a 2.40 ERA. Hudson was acquired in the trade for Edwin Jackson last season.

Wednesday, 3:40PM. Cole Hamels (2-1, 2.92 ERA) vs. Joe Saunders (0-2, 4.98 ERA). Dating back to last July, Hamels has a 5-2 record with a 1.18 ERA in his last 11 road starts (76 2/3 innings pitched), including the postseason. In 5 career starts against the D-Backs, Hamels is 2-1 with a 3.69 ERA. Hamels tossed 8 shutout innings in his last start against the Padres. Kelly Johnson is 4-for-23 (.174 avg) in his career against Hamels. In 2 starts against the Phillies, Saunders is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA. Saunders has an 8.38 ERA in 2 home starts this season. Raul Ibanez is 8-for-23 (.348 avg) with 2 homers in his career against Saunders.


Ryan Madson is 3-0 with 1 save a 3.64 ERA in 17 career games against the D-Backs. Opponents are batting .188 against Madson this season.

Ryan Howard's 19 RBI lead the Phillies and are good enough for second best in the National League.

Shane Victorino is batting .325 with a .936 OPS in 10 road games this season.

Kelly Johnson is batting .147 in 8 home games this season. Johnson's 11 HR against the Phillies are his most against any opponent.

Gerardo Parra is a .171 hitter in 11 career games against Philadelphia. Parra is a .290 career hitter at Chase Field.

In his career, JJ Putz has thrown 5 scoreless innings against the Phillies. This season, Putz has 5 saves and has held opponents to a .154 batting average.

Phillies Team ERA- 3.00
Diamondbacks Team ERA- 5.16

_______________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

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

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

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...

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...