Series Preview: Pirates at Phillies, 7/29-7/31

This weekend the Pittsburgh Pirates (54-49) travel to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies (65-39) in a three-game series that pits the Keystone State rivals against one another and begins on Friday evening at Citizens Bank Park.

The Pirates won 2 of 3 games when these team met in Pittsburgh in June. Last season, the Phillies dropped 4 of 6 meetings with the Buccos.

With both teams battling for a playoff spot in the National League, this series is primed to be an interesting one.

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

Friday, 7:05PM. Charlie Morton (8-5, 3.69 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (12-5, 2.44 ERA). In 8 starts on the road this season Morton has posted a 5-1 record with a 3.00 ERA. Morton has a 1-2 record with a 7.11 ERA in 4 career starts against the Phillies. In his previous 5 starts, Morton has a 1-2 record with a 5.40 ERA. Halladay is 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA in his last 5 home starts. In 4 career starts against the Pirates, Halladay has a 2-1 record with a 1.45 ERA.

Saturday, 7:05PM. James McDonald (7-4, 3.95 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (9-7, 3.05 ERA). McDonald has a 2-0 record with a 1.52 ERA in his last 5 starts. In 10 road starts this season, the righty McDonald is 4-3 with a 5.19 ERA and a .311 batting average against. In 12 home starts this season, Lee has a 7-2 record with a 2.05 ERA. Matt Diaz is 4-for-8 in his career against Lee. Lee has a 2.18 ERA in 17 career regular season starts at Citizens Bank Park.

Sunday, 1:35PM. Jeff Karstens (8-5, 2.41 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (7-1, 2.02 ERA). In 11 games on the road this year, Karstens is 4-2 with a 2.93 ERA. Karstens is 5-1 with a 1.56 ERA over his last 10 starts. In 8 day games, Karstens has a 1-5 record with a 3.55 ERA. In 6 home starts, Worley is 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA. Opponents are batting .199 against Worley this season.

Andrew McCutchen knocked his 15th HR of the season against the Braves on Thursday. McCutchen is batting .284 in 50 road games this year.

In 7 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan has allowed 5 earned runs in 7 innings pitched (6.43 ERA). Hanrahan recorded his 30th save of the season on Thursday.

In 55 career games against the Phillies, Matt Diaz is a .335 hitter with 8 HR and 31 RBI. Diaz is batting .158 in 10 games since the All-star Break.

Jimmy Rollins has posted a .338 batting average in 60 career games against the Pirates. Rollins is batting .230 at home this season.

In 14 career games against Pittsburgh, Carlos Ruiz has a .184 batting average. Ruiz is batting .333 in 19 games this month.

Placido Polanco, sidelined with a back issue, played a rehab outing for Triple A Lehigh Valley on Thursday, going 0-for-2 with a walk in 6 innings played. Polanco is slated to play a full 9 innings for Lehigh on Friday and could return to the Phillies after that.

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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. ...

A Letter to This Guy

Dear Cardinals fan, When a homerun ball is hit in your direction, do not close your eyes and raise both hands far above your head, leaving your face/chest/neck/head defenseless. Jayson Werth long balls to the cranium are probably not very comfortable. Next time, let the guy in the pajama pants behind you take a crack at it. He may not know how to dress well, but he keeps his eyes open in the face of killer shots from World Champion outfielders. Love, PhoulBallz.com PS- Stay hot.

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

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