Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, 5/6-5/8

The Phillies (21-9) look to continue a strong home stand, as the division rival Atlanta Braves (18-15) come to town for a 3-game series.

Roy Oswalt has returned to the Phillies after leaving the team for a week to be with his family, following the devastating tornadoes that ravage his home region in Mississippi. He is slated to start the second game of the series. He'll face 25-year-old righty Jair Jurrjens, who hasn't lost this season.

In the series opener on Friday, the Phillies will look to stay on a hot streak, as they've won 6 of their past 7 games, including a 3-game sweep of the Nationals this week. The Braves are on a roll of their own, fresh off a 4-game sweep of the Brewers in Atlanta.

Read ahead for a look at the pitching match ups and loads more details for this series.

Friday, 7:05PM. Derek Lowe (2-3, 3.72 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (2-2, 3.66 ERA). Lowe was arrested recently and charged with DUI. In 7 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Lowe is 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA. In a start earlier this season against the Phils, Lowe took a loss, while allowing 2 earned runs in 7 innings. Shane Victorino is 5-for-27 (.185 avg) in his career against Lowe. In 4 career starts against the Braves, Lee has a 1-2 record with a 6.98 ERA. In 8 career regular season starts at CBP, Lee is 4-2 with a 2.59 ERA. Brian McCann is 3-for-5 (.600 avg) with a walk in his career against Lee.

Saturday, 7:05PM. Jair Jurrjens (3-0, 1.52 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (3-1, 3.33 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Jurrjens is 3-3 with a 2.56 ERA. Jurrjens has a 1.87 ERA in 5 career starts at Citizens Bank Park. Jimmy Rollins is 4-for-26 (.154 avg) in his career against Jurrjens. In 10 career games against the Braves, Oswalt has a 1-3 record with a 5.56 ERA. In 12 career regular season starts at Citizens Bank Park, Oswalt is 10-0 with a 2.23 ERA. Opponents are hitting .212 against Oswalt this season. Alex Gonzalez is 12-for-27 (.444 avg) with 2 HR against Oswalt in his career.

Sunday, 8:05PM. Pitcher To Be Announced vs. Cole Hamels (4-1, 2.66 ERA). The Braves played a double header on Wednesday, so it is unclear who will get the start on Sunday. Hamels has a 10-5 record with a 3.72 ERA in 20 career starts against the Braves. Dan Uggla is 6-for-40 (.150 avg) against Hamels in his career.

Nate McLouth is 9-for-49 (.184 avg) in 15 career games at Citizens Bank Park. McLouth was batting .421 with runners in scoring position this season, through Wednesday's game.

Jason Heyward is a .189 hitter in 16 career games against the Phillies. Through Wednesday, Heyward was batting .172 in night games this season.

Righty reliever Craig Kimbrel has a 1.42 ERA and a .053 batting average against in 6 road appearances this season.

Shane Victorino went 9-for-13 (.692 avg) in the Phillies' first series against the Braves this season. Victorino is a career .275 hitter in 92 games against the Braves.

Ryan Madson has an impressive 0.75 ERA in 12 appearances this season. Chipper Jones is 5-for-11 (.455 avg) in his career against Madson.

In 39 career games against the Braves, Raul Ibanez is a .247 hitter with 3 HR and 20 RBI.

Ryan Howard is a .317 hitter with 34 homers in 105 career games against the Braves.

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