Series Preview: Phillies at Metropolitans, 7/15-7/17

As the second half of the season begins, the National League East division leading Phillies (57-34) travel north on the turnpike to take on the Metropolitans (46-45) at Citi Field.

New York made headlines earlier this week, on the night of the All-star Game, when they dealt closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers for two players to be named later. The Metropolitans are expected to continue to be sellers as the non-waiver trading deadline approaches.

Philadelphia is making news of its own, as this series begins, placing All-star third baseman Placido Polanco on the disabled list with a bulging disc in his back. The move is retroactive to July 5th, so Polanco would be eligible to return from the DL on July 20th.

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

Friday, 7:05PM. Vance Worley (4-1, 2.20 ERA) vs. RA Dickey (4-7, 3.61 ERA). In 3 career outings against the Metropolitans, Worley has a 1-1 record with a 4.50 ERA. Worley has a 2-0 record with a 0.72 ERA in his last 4 Major League starts. In 4 career starts against the Phillies, Dickey is 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA. In 9 home starts this season, Rickey has a 1-5 record with a 3.98 ERA. Dickey, a right-hander, is 1-1 with a 1.88 ERA in his last 4 home starts.

Saturday, 4:10PM. Cole Hamels (11-4, 2.32 ERA) vs. Jonathan Niese (8-7, 3.88 ERA). Hamels has a 5-1 record with a 2.20 ERA in 8 road starts this season. In 15 career starts against the Metropolitans, Hamels has a 3-9 record with a 4.22 ERA. In his last 9 starts, Hamels has a 5-2 record with a 1.54 ERA. Scott Hairston is 6-for-17 (.353 avg) with 2 doubles and 3 HR in his career against Hamels. In 6 starts against the Phillies, Niese is 2-3 with a 3.11 ERA. In his last 5 games, Niese is 2-2 with a 5.48 ERA.

Sunday, 1:10PM. Kyle Kendrick (4-4, 3.58 ERA) vs. Mike Pelfrey (5-8, 4.55 ERA). In 11 road games this season, Kendrick has a 2-1 record with a 4.18 ERA. Jose Reyes is 10-for-26 (.385 avg) with a double, a triple and 2 HR against Kendrick. The righty Pelfrey is 6-5 with a 5.01 ERA in 16 career starts against the Phillies. In 7 starts at Citi Field this season, Pelfrey is 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA. Chase Utley is 10-for-32 (.313 avg) with 2 doubles and 4 HR against Pelfrey in his career.

In 17 career games at Citi Field, Ryan Howard has a .219 batting average. Howard's 18 homeruns this year are all against right-handed pitchers.

Domonic Brown is batting .371 in 9 July games. Brown is 5-for-7 (.714 avg) in 3 games at Citi Field this season.

In 38 road games this year, Raul Ibanez is batting .179. This season with runners on base and 2 outs, Ibanez has posted a .302 avg.

Carlos Beltran has posted a .301 average with 7 HR and 24 RBI in 41 home games this year. Beltran is a .260 hitter in 111 career games against the Phillies.

Justin Turner is batting .299 in 29 home games this season. In 5 games against the Phillies, Turner is 7-for-17 (.412 avg).

In 37 games since the end of May, Daniel Murphy is batting .329.

Phillies team ERA- 3.02.
Metropolitans team ERA- 3.95.

_______________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

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

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...

PhoulBallz Interview: First round pick Bryson Stott

Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign. En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good. You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day. I would say that's the biggest difference. But I...

Patreon Exclusive: Logan O'Hoppe answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early. When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more. Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one. That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog