Series Preview: Phillies at Mariners, 6/17-6/19

The Phillies (44-26), in the midst of a hot streak that has seen them win 7 straight games, will head west for a 3-game interleague series with the Seattle Mariners (35-34) that begins Friday night.

Philadelphia has been riding stellar pitching during the recent streak of success. Phillies starting pitchers have combined to post a 1.80 ERA over the past 7 games.

The M's, who are 1/2 game behind Texas for 1st place in the American League West division standings, hope to benefit from the promotion of highly regarded prospect, infielder Dustin Ackley. The 2nd overall draft selection in the 2009 draft, Ackley had posted a .303 average with 9 homers and 35 RBI through 66 games with Triple A Tacoma.

These two teams have not met since the Mariners took 2 of 3 games from the Phillies at Seattle's Safeco Field in 2005.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups as well as other key statistics from this series.

Friday, 10:10PM. Roy Oswalt (4-4, 3.14 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (6-4, 2.72 ERA). Oswalt has posted a 2-2 record and a 2.90 ERA in 6 road starts this year. In his last 7 starts, Oswalt has a 1-4 record and a 3.92 ERA. Adam Kennedy is 7-for-17 (.412 avg) in his career against Oswalt. In 6 home starts, Pineda has posted a 3-1 record and a 2.06 ERA. In his last 4 starts, Pineda is 0-2 with a 4.07 ERA. The rookie right-hander Pineda has held opponents to a .208 batting average this season.

Saturday, 10:10PM. Vance Worley (2-1, 3.75 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez (7-5, 3.30 ERA). In 3 road games this season, Worley has a 0-1 record and a 7.71 ERA. Worley posted a 4-2 record and a 2.62 ERA in 8 starts for the Triple A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Hernandez is 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA in 6 starts at Safeco Field this season. In his last 4 starts, Hernandez is 1-2 with a 4.08 ERA. Placido Polanco is 7-for-18 (.389 avg) in his career against Hernandez.

Sunday, 4:10PM. Cole Hamels (9-2, 2.49 ERA) vs. Jason Vargas (4-4, 4.13 ERA). Hamels is 4-0 with a 2.09 ERA and a .187 batting average against in 6 road starts this season. Adam Kennedy and Brendan Ryan are a combined 0-for-15 against Hamels. In 3 career outings against the Phillies, the lefty Vargas has no decisions and a 9.45 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Vargas is 1-2 with a 5.52 ERA. In 35 career games at Safeco Field, Vargas has a 12-10 record with a 3.33 ERA.

In 6 career games against Philadelphia, Ichiro Suzuki has a .321 average and a homerun. Ichiro has 5 consecutive multi-hit games heading into this series.

First baseman Justin Smoak, a key piece in the Texas trade for Cliff Lee last July, leads the Mariners in HR (12) and RBI (38). Smoak is batting just .233 since April.

Mariners closer Brandon League has a 1.72 ERA and is perfect in 11 save opportunities in 16 home games this season.

Ryan Howard has posted a .209 batting average in 29 road games this season. Also, in 48 night games in 2011, Howard has a .217 batting average.

In 21 career games at Safeco Field, Placido Polanco has a .241 batting average and a .575 OPS. Polanco is batting .352 against left-handers this season.

In his last 10 games, Chase Utley is 14-for-39 (.359 avg) with 4 doubles, 2 HR and 9 RBI.

_______________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

2022 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #24 RHP Cristian Hernandez

Venezuelan born right-hander Cristian Hernandez has begun to earn recognition as one of the Phillies most promising pitching prospects. Signed as a 16-year-old in 2017 for a reported $120,000, Hernandez got his professional career started the following summer as a starter for the Phillies' Red Dominican Summer League club. There, in 13 starts, Hernandez tallied a 2-3 record with 2.57 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP as well as a 7.0 K/9 mark. An injury sidelined Hernandez in 2019 and the 2020 season was cancelled due to the global pandemic. In 2021, Hernandez saw his first regular season action in the United States, starting his season in Florida Complex League. After two appearances there, the six-foot-three 185-pounder was promoted to the Class A Clearwater Threshers. In 20 combined outings (17 starts), Hernandez notched a 2-7 record with a 3.57 ERA, a .228 batting average against and an 11.2 K/9 mark. Projectability is something that baseball folks like about Hernandez. His size, consistent

Who is Your Favorite Willie 'Mays' Hayes?

PhoulBallz.com is wondering which individual who has portrayed Willie "Mays" Hayes is the favorite of the public. Hayes, of course, is the character made famous in the Major League motion picture series. In Major League , Willie "Mays" Hayes was portrayed by budding Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, who would go on to action movie superstardom. Snipes has starred in major motion pictures like the Blade trilogy, Passenger 57 , Undisputed and many more. Snipes remains an impact Hollywood actor, despite legal troubles related to income tax evasion. Snipes was replaced for the sequel, Major League II when his busy career, and possibly the film's budget, would not allow him to return, by Omar Epps. Another budding actor, Epps had previously worked with director David S. Ward, on the film The Program , and landed the role of Hayes, who had become a Hollywood action star over the off-season that occured between the two films. Epps' career portraying athletes rolle

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog