Series Preview: Phillies at Cardinals, 5/16- 5/17

Fresh off a series loss in Atlanta, the Phillies (25-14) still sport the best record in the league and continue their road trip with 2 games in St. Louis against the Cardinals (22-19).

This brief series will pit one exceptional offense against one outstanding pitching staff. The Cardinals' offense has been the strength of the club for much of the season, leading the Majors in runs scored (210) and batting average (.284), while the Phillies' highly-regarded pitching staff has the second best ERA in the National League (3.12).

Philadelphia and St. Louis each won four of the eight games the teams played against one another last season.

Details on the pitching match ups for this series and plenty more statistics lie ahead.

Monday, 7:05PM. Cliff Lee (2-3, 3.78 ERA) vs. Jake Westbrook (2-3, 6.92 ERA). In his last 5 starts, Lee is 0-2 with a 3.54 ERA. In 2 career starts against St. Louis, Lee is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA. In 4 road starts this season, Lee has a 1-2 record with a 4.62 ERA. In 1 career start against Philadelphia, Westbrook allowed 4 earned runs in 5 innings and got a no decision. In 4 home starts, Westbrook is 1-2 with an 8.24 ERA. Placido Polanco is 8-for-27 (.296 avg) against Westbrook in his career.

Tuesday, 8:15PM. Roy Oswalt (3-1, 3.33 ERA) vs. Jaime Garcia (5-0, 1.89 ERA). In 28 career games against St. Louis, Oswalt has a 9-8 record with a 3.19 ERA. In 3 road starts this season, Oswalt is 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA. Colby Rasmus is 4-for-9 (.444 avg) against Oswalt in his career. Garcia has a 0.39 ERA in 3 home starts this season. In 4 career games against the Phillies, Garcia has a 2-1 record with a 1.80 ERA and a .167 batting average against.

With a 0-for-5 day on Sunday, Jimmy Rollins ended his personal streak of reaching base via base hit or walk in 21 straight games. Rollins is .261 career hitter in 62 games against the Cardinals.

In 21 career games at Busch Stadium, Ryan Howard is a .388 hitter with 8 homeruns and 31 RBI.

Lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo has held opponents to a .146 batting average this season.

Former 1st round pick Colby Rasmus is a .207 hitter in 13 career games against the Phillies.

In 17 home games this season, Lance Berkman is batting .373 with a 1.100 OPS. Berkman is a career .292 hitter in 64 games against the Phillies.

Matt Holiday's .379 batting average is best in the National League. Holliday is a career .337 hitter in 137 games at Busch Stadium.

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