Series Preview: Rangers at Phillies, 5/20-5/22

The two teams that Cliff Lee has pitched for in the last two World Series will meet this weekend, as the Texas Rangers (23-21) travel to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies (26-17).

The 3-game set will mark the second straight series in which the National League East Division leading Phillies will host a first place team.

Lee, who was traded from Seattle to Texas last July, will start on Saturday and be faced by his former teammate Colby Lewis in a game set to be televised by the FOX network.

Read on for more details on the pitching match ups and plenty more statistics for this series.

Friday, 7:05PM. CJ Wilson (4-2, 3.37 ERA) vs Roy Halladay (5-3, 2.21 ERA). In 3 road starts this season, Wilson has a 1-1 record with a 2.78 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Wilson is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA. Raul Ibanez is 2-for-19 (.105 avg) in his career against Wilson. Halladay is 3-1 with a 2.52 ERA in 5 home starts this season. In his last 5 starts, Halladay is 3-2 with a 1.77 ERA. In 20 career games against Texas, Halladay is 7-7 with a 5.36 ERA.

Saturday, 7:10PM. Colby Lewis (4-4, 3.81 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (2-4, 3.84 ERA). In 4 road starts this season, the righty Lewis is 2-2 with a 2.61 ERA. In his last 4 starts, Lewis has posted a 3-1 record and a 1.67 ERA. Lee, the former Ranger, has a 6-3 record with a 5.55 ERA in 10 career starts against Texas. In 4 home starts this season, Lee is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA. Ian Kinsler is 9-for-20 (.450 avg) with a double and a triple in his career against Lee.

Sunday, 1:35PM. Matt Harrison (3-4, 4.27 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (3-1, 3.09 ERA). In his last 5 starts, the left-handed Harrison has posted a 0-4 record with a 7.03 ERA. Lefty hitting opponents are batting .318 against Harrison this season. In 12 career starts against Texas, Oswalt has a 4-6 record with a 4.54 ERA and a .290 batting average against. In 12 regular season starts at Citizens Bank Park, Oswalt 10-0 with a 2.23 ERA.

Through games played on Wednesday, Ian Kinsler was batting just .159 in 18 road games this season. In 3 career games against the Phils, Kinsler is 9-for-13 (.692 avg).

Michael Young is 35-for-113 (.310 avg) combined in his career against the Phillies' 3 scheduled starters in this series.

Rangers closer Neftali Feliz has blown a save in each of his last two outings. Feliz has a 1.26 ERA through 14 games this season.

Through games played Wednesday, Placido Polanco was batting .341 at home this season. In 25 career games against the Rangers, Polanco is a .298 hitter.

Ryan Madson is 2-0 with 7 saves and a 0.53 ERA in 17 games this season. Madson has a 4-4 record with 1 blown save and a 4.70 ERA in 36 career interleague games.

Ryan Howard is batting .161 in 17 May games.
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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

Michael Taylor Q&A

Michael Taylor is currently leading the Reading Phillies' offense and is near the top of the Eastern League in most stat categories (3rd in batting avg- .342, 3rd in HR- 14, tied for second in RBI- 55, 2nd in OPS.- .994, tied for 1st in runs scored- 49, tied for 1st in hits...). The 23 year old Taylor is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has quickly grabbed the attention of phans and media alike as a top prospect to watch. I spoke with Mike Taylor over the weekend, and here is that interview. With all the big stats and being among the league leaders in so many categories, do you think you're ready for the next step? It's kind of a difficult question. Do you have anything left to prove here? There's always something to prove. There's stuff to prove every game. I mean that's one thing that's very interesting about this game. It's such a numbers oriented game. You're only as good as your last "whatever statistical category that someone's valuing". ...

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

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