Series Preview: Marlins at Phillies, April 9- 12

The Phillies will kick off their home schedule on Monday when they host a familiar division rival, the newly named Miami Marlins, in the opener of a three-game set. Led by lefty Cole Hamels, who will start on Monday afternoon, the Phillies will try to get back to the winning ways that brought their organization five straight division championships, after losing their last two contests in disappointing, walk-off fashion to Pittsburgh over the weekend.

Hamels, who posted a 2.93 ERA in 7 spring training outings, begins a crucial season, with not only the Phillies' run of division dominance on the line, but perhaps his entire future on it too, as the 2008 World Series Most Valuable Player will have the opportunity to sign a hefty contract sometime in the next 10 months, or so.

With a sluggish offense thus far in 2012, averaging 2 runs per contest, the Phillies have depended on their starting pitching to keep them in games. In the first three games the season, Philadelphia starters have sported a 0.90 ERA.

In the series opener, the Marlins will counter with right-hander Anibal Sanchez, who has struggled against the Phillies in his career with a 3-8 record and a 5.09 ERA in 16 starts.

Read ahead for more details on the pitching match ups and loads more stats for this series.

Monday, 1:05 PM. Anibal Sanchez (8-9, 3.67 ERA in 2011) vs. Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.79 ERA in 2011). In 10 career starts at Citizen Bank Park, Sanchez has posted a 1-6 record with a 6.58 ERA. Sanchez went 0-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 5 starts against the Phillies last season. Placido Polanco is 9-for-18 (.500 avg) with a double, a triple and 2 HR against Sanchez in his career. In 15 regular season home starts last year, Hamels went 7-6 with a 2.64 ERA and a .209 batting average against. In 19 career starts against the Marlins, Hamels has posted a 6-7 record with a 3.44 ERA. Chris Coghlan is 7-for-17 (.412 avg) with 2 HR in his career against Hamels.

Wednesday, 7:05 PM. Josh Johnson (0-1, 4.50 ERA in 1 start this season) vs. Roy Halladay (1-0, 0.00 ERA in 1 start this season). In 14 career games (12 starts) against Philadelphia, Johnson has a 5-3 record with a 3.16 ERA. Pete Orr is 6-for-15 (.400 avg) in his career against Johnson. The Marlins' ace is 4-0 with a 1.87 ERA in 6 career outings at Citizens Bank Park. In 10 career starts against the Marlins, Halladay is 4-3 with a 2.51 ERA. Halladay has a 20-8 record and a 2.31 ERA in 34 regular season games at Citizens Bank Park. In 3 starts against the Marlins last year, Halladay had a 0-1 record with a 3.00 ERA. Giancarlo "Mike" Stanton and Logan Morrison are a combined 2-for-23 (.087 avg) in their careers against Halladay.

Thursday, 7:05 PM. Mark Buehrle (0-1, 3.00 ERA in 1 start this season) vs. Joe Blanton (0-1, 13.50 ERA in 1 relief appearance this season). The lefty Buerhrle is 3-0 with a 5.06 ERA in 3 career starts against the Phillies. Polanco is 14-for-35 (.400 avg) in his career against Buehrle. In 9 career starts against the Marlins, Blanton is 6-2 with a 3.33 ERA. As a Phillie in April, Blanton is 0-4 with a 7.65 ERA in 9 games (8 starts). Coghlan is 7-for-14 (.500 avg) in his career against Blanton.

Heath Bell has a 1-1 record with 5 saves, 0 blown saves and a 2.93 ERA in 26 career games against the Phillies. Juan Pierre is 7-for-12 (.583 avg) in his career against Bell.

In 123 career games against the Phillies, Jose Reyes has a .307 average with 16 homers, 51 RBI and 48 steals. Reyes is a combined 25-for-68 (.368 avg) against Hamels and Halladay.

Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-15 (.133 avg) in 5 games at Citizens Bank Park last year. Ramirez is just 2-for-15 in the early going this season.

In 16 career games against the Phillies, right-handed reliever Edward Mujica has a 3-0 record with a 1.56 ERA and a .200 batting average against.

In 98 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Jim Thome is a .239 hitter with 26 HR and 60 RBI. Thome batted .324 with runners in scoring position last season.

Laynce Nix has a career .111 batting average with a .339 OPS in 15 games at Citizens Bank Park.

Chad Qualls has atrocious numbers at his new home park- 2-2 record, 14 earned runs and 7 HR allowed in 11 1/3 innings with a .420 batting average against in 13 appearances at Citizens Bank Park.

In 34 games at Citizens Bank Park during his career, Hunter Pence has a .318 average with 3 HR and 18 RBI.

______________________________________________

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

2022 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #24 RHP Cristian Hernandez

Venezuelan born right-hander Cristian Hernandez has begun to earn recognition as one of the Phillies most promising pitching prospects. Signed as a 16-year-old in 2017 for a reported $120,000, Hernandez got his professional career started the following summer as a starter for the Phillies' Red Dominican Summer League club. There, in 13 starts, Hernandez tallied a 2-3 record with 2.57 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP as well as a 7.0 K/9 mark. An injury sidelined Hernandez in 2019 and the 2020 season was cancelled due to the global pandemic. In 2021, Hernandez saw his first regular season action in the United States, starting his season in Florida Complex League. After two appearances there, the six-foot-three 185-pounder was promoted to the Class A Clearwater Threshers. In 20 combined outings (17 starts), Hernandez notched a 2-7 record with a 3.57 ERA, a .228 batting average against and an 11.2 K/9 mark. Projectability is something that baseball folks like about Hernandez. His size, consistent

Who is Your Favorite Willie 'Mays' Hayes?

PhoulBallz.com is wondering which individual who has portrayed Willie "Mays" Hayes is the favorite of the public. Hayes, of course, is the character made famous in the Major League motion picture series. In Major League , Willie "Mays" Hayes was portrayed by budding Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, who would go on to action movie superstardom. Snipes has starred in major motion pictures like the Blade trilogy, Passenger 57 , Undisputed and many more. Snipes remains an impact Hollywood actor, despite legal troubles related to income tax evasion. Snipes was replaced for the sequel, Major League II when his busy career, and possibly the film's budget, would not allow him to return, by Omar Epps. Another budding actor, Epps had previously worked with director David S. Ward, on the film The Program , and landed the role of Hayes, who had become a Hollywood action star over the off-season that occured between the two films. Epps' career portraying athletes rolle

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog