Series Preview: Marlins at Phillies, 6/14-6/16

With a double header on Wednesday (the afternoon game is a make up for a rain out back in April) breaking up the highly regarded Philadelphia pitching rotation, the Marlins (32-33) will still have to face the Phillies' (40-26) three strongest starting pitchers in this upcoming 4-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

On consecutive days, the Marlins are set to face Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, who, in their past 15 combined starts (5 from each hurler), have posted a 12-1 record and a 2.38 ERA.

Florida will counter with a collection of three pitchers that have not had much success against the Phillies (17-19 combined record, 4.69 combined ERA) and a starter that has not been announced yet, in the series.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and loads more statistical information from this series.

Tuesday, 7:05PM. Chris Volstad (2-6, 5.51 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (8-2, 2.58 ERA). In 10 career starts against the Phillies, Volstad has a 2-3 record with a 4.45 ERA. Volstad has a 0-2 record, a 7.56 ERA and a .349 batting average against in 5 road starts this year. In his last 8 starts, the former 1st round draft pick Volstad is 0-5 with a 5.60 ERA. Ryan Howard is 11-for-23 (.478 avg) with 6 HR in his career against Volstad. In 16 career starts against Florida, Hamels has a 4-7 record with a 3.65 ERA. Hamels has posted a 4-0 record with a 1.70 ERA over his last 5 starts this season. In 7 home starts this year, Hamels is 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA.

Wednesday, 1:05PM. To Be Announced vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-4, 3.47 ERA). In 13 career games against Florida, Kendrick is 5-2 with a 5.36 ERA. Kendrick has posted a 1-3 record and a 3.60 ERA in 9 home games this year. Gaby Sanchez is 6-for-10 (.600 avg) with a double and a HR against Kendrick in his career.

Wednesday, 7:05PM. Anibal Sanchez (6-1, 3.06 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (9-3, 2.39 ERA). The right-handed Sanchez has a 3-7 record and a 5.65 ERA in 12 career starts against the Phils. In 6 road starts this season, Sanchez has a 3-1 record with a 2.93 ERA. Chase Utley is 11-for-25 (.440 avg) with 3 doubles and a triple in his career against Sanchez. In 8 career starts against the Marlins, Halladay is 4-3 with a 2.13 ERA. Halladay is 4-0 with a 2.75 ERA in his last 5 starts.

Thursday, 1:05PM. Javier Vazquez (3-6, 7.09 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (6-5, 3.41 ERA). Vazquez has allowed 8 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings pitched (7.71 ERA) against the Phillies this year. Lefty batters have posted a .321 batting average against the right-handed Vazquez this year. In 5 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Vazquez has a 1-2 record with a 5.97 ERA. Lee has a 1-0 record and a 4.24 ERA in 3 career starts against the Marlins. In 8 home starts this season, Lee has a 5-1 record with a 2.17 ERA.

Hanley Ramirez is slated to be activated from the disabled list on Tuesday. He has been out of action with a back strain. Ramirez is batting .179 in 22 road games this year.

In his last 6 outings, Florida closer Leo Nunez has a 6.34 ERA and 2 blown saves. Nunez has a 3.54 ERA in 20 career games against the Phillies.

Mike Stanton is batting .224 in 16 day games this season. In 8 career games at CBP, Stanton has a .324 avg. with 3 HR and 6 RBI.

In 112 career games against Florida, Chase Utley has a .301 average with 23 HR and 85 RBI.

Raul Ibanez has a .333 average and a .931 OPS in 49 games against the Marlins. Ibanez is 8-for-20 (.400 avg) in 5 games against the Marlins this season.

After posting a 1.74 ERA in 10 April games, Danys Baez has posted a 5.31 ERA in 14 games since then. Baez has a 5.11 ERA in 44 career games at Citizens Bank Park.

Marlins team ERA- 3.83
Phillies team ERA- 3.15
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