Skip to main content

Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, 7/8-7/10

The teams with the two best records in Major League Baseball will face off this weekend, as the Braves (53-36) travel to Philadelphia to take on the National League East division leading Phillies (55-33).

Philadelphia will head into the three-game series down an all-star. Center fielder Shane Victorino, who was voted into the final NL All-star roster spot by fans this week, was officially placed on the disabled list on Friday. Victorino injured his thumb after stumbling while making a play last Sunday. The right thumb sprain forces Victorino to the disabled list for the second time this season.

Former Brave Pete Orr was recalled from Triple A Lehigh Valley to fill Victorino's void.

Atlanta has been victorious in 5 of 9 meetings between the two clubs this season.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and other key info for this series.


Friday, 7:05pm. Brandon Beachy (3-1, 3.23 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (11-3, 2.44 ERA). In 4 career starts against the Phillies, Beachy has a 0-3 record with a 5.00 ERA. On the road this season, Beachy has posted a 2-0 record with a 1.50 ERA in 4 starts. Beachy has a .245 ERA in his last 8 starts. Raul Ibanez is 4-for-7 (.571 avg) in his career against Beachy. Halladay has a 4-1 record and a 1.65 ERA in 6 career games against Atlanta. In 10 home starts this year, Halladay has posted a 6-1 record with a 2.44 ERA. Nate McLouth is 1-for-14 (.071 avg) in his career against Halladay.

Saturday, 4:10PM. Tommy Hanson (10-4, 2.52 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (9-6, 2.92 ERA). In his last 5 starts, Hanson is 5-0 with a 1.97 ERA. Hanson sports a 5-2 record and a 2.81 ERA in 8 road starts this season. In 6 career starts against the Phillies, Hanson is 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA and a .241 batting average against. Lee has a 7-1 record and a 1.66 ERA in 10 home starts this season. In 5 starts against the Braves, Lee is 1-3 with a 6.15 ERA.

Sunday, 1:35PM. Derek Lowe (5-6, 4.21 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (10-4, 2.40 ERA). In 20 career games against the Phillies, Lowe has an 8-5 record with a 2.99 ERA. Lowe is 2-2 with a 5.60 ERA in his last 5 starts. Lowe threw 6 shutout innings at Citizens Bank Park earlier this season. Chase Utley is 12-for-30 (.400 avg) with 2 HR in his career against Lowe. In 22 games against the Braves, Hamels is 10-6 with a 3.83 ERA. This season in 10 home starts, Hamels has posted a 5-3 record with a 2.57 ERA. Over his last 10 games, Hamels has produced a 1.76 ERA.


In 46 career games against the Phillies, Nate McLouth has a .196 batting average. McLouth has a .210 batting average in 30 road games this season.

Dan Uggla has a .232 batting average with 20 HR in 97 career games against the Phillies. In 43 road games this season, Uggla is batting .179.

Rookie Craig Kimbrel leads the National League with 27 saves. Kimbrel has not allowed an earned run in 11 career appearances against the Phillies.

All-star third baseman Placido Polanco expects to return to action on Friday, after missing a pair of games with back issues. Polanco is batting .216 since April.

In 9 games against the Braves this season, Jimmy Rollins is 7-for-37 (.189 avg).

Ryan Howard has a .309 average and a 1.028 OPS in 111 career games against the Braves. Howard is batting .327 in 27 day games, while he sports a .228 average in 60 night games in 2011.

Braves team ERA- 3.02
Phillies team ERA- 3.05

__________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

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

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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. ...

Q&A with Tim Gradoville

Tim Gradoville is a career minor league catcher, who once, as a September call up, was up with the big club for the proverbial cup of coffee. Slated to be the Phillies bullpen catcher, at a later date, Gradoville is currently assigned as a special instructor with the Lakewood BlueClaws. I had the opportunity to speak with Tim and here's how that went down... What's the atmosphere with the BlueClaws like so far this season? Well, I think we have a good mix of players. We have some veteran guys, and some young guys too, so it makes for an interesting mix. I think the guys like to have a good time, and they're pretty loose and that translates into winning games. They have a good time. With a young team, you never know what you're gonna get, sometimes, but they seem to gel pretty well together, so that helps to build team unity, helps guys get along. They're having fun, they're enjoying baseball. This game can be a grind sometimes, if you're not having fun. What...

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...