Series Preview: Phillies at Marlins, 9/2-9/4

Just one week after a two-thirds of a three game series got washed out by Hurricane Irene, the Phillies (87-46) and Marlins (60-76) are scheduled to go head to head once again.

Since the poor weather that drenched the northeastern United States, the Phillies have flexed their muscles, recording their first four-game sweep at Cincinnati since 1916 and going 41 games above .500 for the second time in franchise history.

In the opener of this three-game set, the Phillies will send right-hander Roy Oswalt to the hill. Oswalt was charged with the loss in last Friday's match up with Florida, having given up 5 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. The Marlins will counter with newly recalled lefty Brad Hand, who will be making his first career appearance against Philadelphia.

Read ahead for more details on the pitching matchups and key stats from this series.

Friday, 7:10 PM. Roy Oswalt (6-8, 3.77 ERA) vs. Brad Hand (1-4, 4.08 ERA). In 16 career starts against the Marlins, Oswalt has posted a 6-5 record with a 3.96 ERA. Oswalt is 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA over his last 4 starts. In 6 starts for the Phillies last September, Oswalt went 4-0 with a 1.12 ERA. Hand will be making his return to the big leagues after posting a 1.90 ERA in 4 August starts with Double A Jacksonville. In 4 home starts this season, Hand is 1-3 with a 4.30 ERA.

Saturday, 7:10 PM. Cole Hamels (13-7, 2.58 ERA) vs. Ricky Nolasco (9-10, 4.34 ERA). Hamels has a 6-2 record with a 2.72 ERA in 12 road starts this season. Hamels has a 2-2 record with a 3.25 ERA in 8 career starts at Sun Life Stadium. In his last 6 starts, Hamels is 2-2 with a 2.16 ERA. Nolasco has a 0-2 record and a 10.47 ERA over his last 3 starts. In 15 home starts this season, Nolasco has a 3-4 record with a 3.88 ERA. Hunter Pence is 4-for-18 (.222 avg) with 3 HR in his career against Nolasco.

Sunday, 1:10 PM. Roy Halladay (16-5, 2.47 ERA) vs. Anibal Sanchez (7-7, 3.97 ERA). In 8 starts since the All-star break Halladay has a 5-2 record with a 2.53 ERA. Halladay is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 2 starts against the Marlins this season. Mike Stanton is 1-for-12 (.083 avg) in his career against Halladay. In 14 career starts against the Phillies Sanchez is 3-7 with a 5.67 ERA. Sanchez has won just 1 time in his last 14 starts.

Logan Morrison is a .280 hitter with a .929 OPS in 20 career games against the Phillies. Morrison is 4-for-10 with 2 doubles and a HR in his career against Roy Oswalt.

Mike Stanton's 31 homeruns are tied for second best in the National League. In 62 home games this season, Stanton has a .283 average with 13 HR and 35 RBI.

In 42 games since the All-star break, Gaby Sanchez has posted a .204 batting average.

Carlos Ruiz has posted a .324 batting average in 43 games since the end of June. In 9 games against the Marlins this season, Ruiz is batting .161.

In 55 relief appearances this season, batters are hitting just .112 against Antonio Bastardo. The lefty Bastardo has not allowed a run in 6 career appearances against the Marlins.

Chase Utley is a .303 career hitter with 24 HR and 89 RBI in 119 career games against the Marlins. Utley is batting .247 in 42 road games this season.

Phillies team ERA- 3.05
Marlins team ERA- 4.11

_______________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

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

Stats to Ponder: Jimmy Rollins Edition

J-Roll has batted under .200 for a calendar month twice in his career. In April 2004, Rollins went 13-for-71, for a .183 average. The following month, Rollins went 30-for-107, which is a .280 average. And in August 2005, Rollins went 22-for-117, for a .188 average. The month that followed saw Rollins go 49-for-122 for a .402 average. Rollins is batting .171 so far in May 2009. Improvement is not far away for Jimmy. The Phillies are 10-2 in games this year which Rollins scores at least 1 run. The Phillies are 4-12 in games which Rollins does not score. Jimmy Rollins in 6 games against the Braves this year is batting .071 (2-for-28). In 2008 Rollins batted .284 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2007 Rollins batted .347 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2006 Rollins batted .367 against the Braves in 18 games. Jimmy Milestone Watch: 6 more RBI and Rollins will tie Scott Rolen for 25th all time in Phillies RBI leaders. 7 more triples and Rollins will tie Richie Ashburn for 4th all time i...

Crawford's Chronicles: JP Crawford talks Spring Training

JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd Entering this year as the widely regarded top prospect in the Phillies organization, J.P. Crawford will be taking time each week to provide insight directly from inside spring training in Clearwater, FL, right here on PhilliesNation.com. Crawford, 20, was named the top positional prospect in two leagues (Class A South Atlantic League and Class A Advanced Florida State League) last year, when he combined, in 123 games, to post a .285 average, 11 homers, 48 RBI and 24 stolen bases. He also represented the Phils organization in the MLB All-Star Futures Game last season. As the 2015 campaign approaches, the six-foot-two 180-pound lefty batter is expected to reach the Double-A level and continue to prove why the Phillies selected him in the first round of the 2013 draft. In this initial installment of our weekly check-in with J.P., he shares thoughts on a variety of topics, including his exclusion from big league camp, which member of the big leagu...

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. ...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog