Skip to main content

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
_____________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

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

Comments

Anonymous said…
Yes there should realize the reader to RSS my feed to RSS commentary, quite simply

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Velasquez shut down, Eflin on deck?

Eflin with Reading in 2015, image- Jay Floyd Following Vincent Velasquez leaving his start after just two pitches for the Phillies on Wednesday, righty prospect Zach Eflin was pulled from his start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett. The 22-year-old sports a 5-1 record with a 3.14 ERA and a .210 batting average against in 10 starts for the IronPigs this season. He could take the place of Velasquez if he is required to miss any additional time. Initial word on Velasquez after he threw two fastballs that clocked in the 86-87 MPH range (considerably slower than the 94 MPH he averages) and was swiftly pulled from his outing, is that he has a biceps strain. He'll be further evaluated in the coming days. Prior to the regular season, Eflin got a taste of competing against big leaguers when he was charged with 12 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits while striking out two and walking one with a wild pitch in three innings of work in an intrasquad exhibition that pitted the Phils...