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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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. ...

A Letter to This Guy

Dear Cardinals fan, When a homerun ball is hit in your direction, do not close your eyes and raise both hands far above your head, leaving your face/chest/neck/head defenseless. Jayson Werth long balls to the cranium are probably not very comfortable. Next time, let the guy in the pajama pants behind you take a crack at it. He may not know how to dress well, but he keeps his eyes open in the face of killer shots from World Champion outfielders. Love, PhoulBallz.com PS- Stay hot.

Kendrick & LaGrossa- Second Phils/Survivor Marriage

On Saturday, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick married 3-time Survivor contestant and former Flyers employee Stephenie LaGrossa. The couple exchanged vows in front of 105 guests at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Their special day featured many personalized aspects, including cocktail hour snacks modeled in the fashion of mini Philly cheesesteaks, as well as the couple's two dogs, Bebe and Champ, serving as flower girl and ring bearer during the ceremony. The pets wore a white dress and a tuxedo, respectively. Kendrick is now the second Phillies pitcher to marry a former contestant of the CBS reality competition program, as lefty Cole Hamels wedded Heidi Strobel, who appeared on the sixth season of Survivor, in 2007. _________________________________________________________________ Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter, for updates, stats and info, by clicking HERE . Photos- People.com

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