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Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, 9/5-9/7

Happy Labor Day! The Braves (82-57), who hold the lead in the National League Wild Card standings by 8 1/2 games, and Phillies (88-48) who are currently 7 1/2 games ahead of Atlanta in the NL East division, are set to begin a three-game series at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park on Monday night. With both clubs seemingly set for a post-season run, this could potentially be a preview of this year's National League Championship Series.

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


Monday, 7:05 PM. Derek Lowe (9-12, 4.52 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (15-7, 2.59 ERA). In 21 career games against the Phillies, Lowe has an 8-6 record with 2 saves, 1 blown save and a 3.15 ERA. In 2 starts at Citizens Bank Park this year, Lowe is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA. Chase Utley is 13-for-33 (.394 avg) with 3 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Lowe. In 6 career starts against Atlanta, Lee has a 1-3 record with a 4.98 ERA. Lee is 10-2 with a 2.13 ERA in 15 home starts this season. Lee has posted a 6-0 record with a 1.14 ERA in his last 6 starts.

Tuesday, 7:05 PM. Tim Hudson (14-8, 3.05 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (10-1, 2.85 ERA). In his last 7 starts, Hudson is 5-1 with a 2.03 ERA. Hudson has a 5-4 record with a 4.04 ERA in 11 road starts this season. In 20 career starts against Philadelphia, Hudson is 7-7 with a 3.65 ERA. Placido Polanco is 1-for-12 (.083 avg) in his career against Hudson. In 9 home starts this season, Worley has posted a 5-0 record with a 1.96 ERA. Worley is 8-0 with a 1.51 ERA in 14 night games this season. The Phillies have won 14 straight games started by the rookie Worley.

Wednesday, 7:05 PM. Brandon Beachy (7-2, 3.37 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (7-8, 3.80 ERA). In 5 career starts against the Phillies, Beachy is 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA and a .320 batting average against. Beachy is 4-0 with a 2.79 ERA over his last 8 starts. Carlos Ruiz is 5-for-6 with two doubles and a HR against Beachy in his career. Oswalt has a 1-3 record with a 5.56 ERA in 10 career games against the Braves. In 17 career regular season starts at Citizens Bank Park, Oswalt is 12-3 with a 2.86 ERA. Alex Gonzalez is 12-for-27 (.444 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Oswalt.


Dan Uggla has posted a .337 batting average in 46 games since the All-star break, compared to his .185 mark prior to the break. Uggla is a .213 career hitter in 50 games at CBP.

In 24 career games against the Phillies, Michael Bourn is a .307 hitter. Bourn leads the Majors in steals with 49.

Alex Gonzalez is batting .224 in 66 road games this season. Gonzalez is a .220 hitter in 34 games at CBP.

In 40 home games this season, Chase Utley is batting .299 with 7 HR and 21 RBI. Utley is batting .202 against lefty pitchers this year.

Ryan Howard is batting .167 in 12 games against the Braves this season.

In 31 games with the Phillies Hunter Pence has posted a .303 average with 7 HR and 17 RBI. Pence is a career .313 hitter in 26 games against the Braves.

Joe Blanton, who was initially slated to pitch a second rehab outing today for Class A Lakewood, has been activated from the disabled list and will be in the Phillies' bullpen for the series opener. Blanton was out of action since May with a right elbow issue. Blanton threw 1 scoreless inning for the BlueClaws on Friday.

Braves team ERA- 3.35
Phillies team ERA- 3.08
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