Series Preview: Phillies at Nationals, 8/19-8/21

The Phillies (80-42), winners of 15 of their last 18 contests, hit the road to open a three-game series in Washington DC against the National (59-63).

The Nationals have dropped 7 of the 11 meetings between these two clubs this season.

Roy Oswalt, who has not won in Washington as a member of the Phillies, will take the mound for the series opener. Washington will counter with veteran hurler Livan Hernandez, who allowed 1 unearned run over 6 2/3 innings in a win against the Phillies last week.

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

Friday, 7:05PM. Roy Oswalt (5-7, 3.84 ERA) vs. Livan Hernandez (7-11, 4.21 ERA). In 19 career games against Washington, Oswalt has posted a 6-4 record with a 3.17 ERA. On the road this year, Oswalt is 2-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 9 games. Laynce Nix is 11-for-23 (.478 avg) with 4 doubles, 1 triple and 3 HR in his career against Oswalt. In 12 home starts this year, Hernandez is 5-3 with a 3.27 ERA. Hernandez is 2-2 with a 5.31 ERA over his last 4 starts. Ryan Howard is 6-for-12 (.500 avg) with 2 HR this season against Hernandez.

Saturday, 7:05PM. Kyle Kendrick (7-5, 3.25 ERA) vs. John Lannan (8-8, 3.55 ERA). Kendrick has a 6.36 ERA in 11 career outings against the Nationals. In 6 games since the All-star break, Kendrick is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA. Ryan Zimmerman is 9-for-19 (.474 avg) with a HR in his career against Kendrick. In his last 5 home starts, the lefty Lannan is 2-2 with a 4.45 ERA. Lannan has a 1-11 record and a 5.84 ERA in 15 career starts against the Phillies. Raul Ibanez is 12-for-25 (.480 avg) with 2 HR in his career against Lannan.

Sunday, 1:35PM. Roy Halladay (15-5, 2.53 ERA) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (2-2, 4.21 ERA). Halladay has an 11-1 record with a 2.21 ERA in 15 career games against the Nationals. In his last 5 starts, Halladay is 4-1 with a 2.41 ERA. Wang is 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA in 3 home games this year. The right-handed Wang will be making his fifth Major League start this year after returning from shoulder problems.

Ryan Zimmerman is a career .280 hitter in 90 games against the Phillies. In 35 home games this season, Zimmerman is batting .321.

In 21 career games against the Phillies, Laynce Nix has a .192 batting average. Nix has posted a .175 average in 24 games since the All-star break.

Michael Morse has a .358 average with 4 HR in 26 career games against the Phillies.

In 25 road road games this season, Antonio Bastardo has a 3-0 record with 5 saves, a 1.11 ERA and a .125 batting average against.

Ryan Howard is batting .231 in 57 road games this season. In 31 career games at Nationals Park, Howard has a line of .262/.336/.582.

In 26 games since the All-star break, Shane Victorino has posted a .343 batting average with 4 HR, 10 RBI and 22 runs scored.

Phillies team ERA- 3.07
Nats team ERA- 3.70

_____________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

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

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog