Skip to main content

Series Preview: Phillies at Padres, April 19-22

Last year, the Phillies dominated the Padres, winning 7 of 8 games between the two clubs, including all 4 that were played in San Diego. This year, fresh off a disappointing loss Wednesday night to the Giants, despite 10 scoreless innings from Cliff Lee, the Phillies limp into Petco Park in an unfamiliar position...for the first time in nearly five years, Philadelphia has sole possession of last place in the National League East division.

The Padres (3-10) are also holding down last place, in the NL West.

Hoping to turn things around, the Phils (5-7) will send 24-year-old right-hander Vance Worley to the mound. Worley sports a 12-5 record and a 2.93 ERA in his big league career.

San Diego will counter with 22-year-old righty Joe Wieland, who was acquired, along with pitcher Robbie Erlin, from Texas for Mike Adams last July.

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


Thursday, 10:05 PM. Vance Worley (0-1, 3.75 ERA) vs. Joe Wieland (0-1, 10.80 ERA). Worley has never faced the Padres in his career. In 13 road games last season, Worley posted a 5-2 record with a 3.84 ERA. Wieland was a 4th round draft pick by Texas in 2008. In 2 starts with Triple-A Tucson this year, Wieland went 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA. Wieland had initially signed a letter of intent to play for San Diego St. University prior to signing as a pro with the Rangers.

Friday, 10:05 PM. Cole Hamels (1-1, 3.65 ERA) vs. Edinson Volquez (0-1, 4.24 ERA). In 5 career starts at Petco Park, Hamels has a 3-1 record with a 1.23 ERA and a .177 batting average against. Orlando Hudson is 4-for-20 (.200 avg) in his career against Hamels. In 2 starts against the Padres last season, Hamels went 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA. In two career starts against the Phillies, Volquez is 2-0 with a 0.73 ERA and a .163 batting average against. Hunter Pence is 3-for-18 (.167 avg) with a homerun in his career against Volquez. Ty Wigginton is 3-for-6 (.500 avg) with a double and 2 homers against Volquez.

Saturday, 8:35 PM. Roy Halladay (3-0, 1.17 ERA) vs. Cory Luebke (1-1, 3.71 ERA). Opponents are batting .164 against Halladay in his 2 road starts this year. In 3 career starts against San Diego, Halladay has a 3-0 record with a 1.90 ERA. Chase Headley is 2-for-11 (.182 avg). The lefty Luebke has a 2.25 ERA in 3 career outings against Philadelphia. In 28 career games at Petco Park, Luebke has a 4-7 record with a 4.01 ERA.

Sunday, 4:05 PM. Joe Blanton (1-2, 4.26 ERA) vs. Anthony Bass (0-2, 3.37 ERA). Blanton is 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA in 4 career starts at Petco Park. Orlando Hudson is 2-for-17 (.118 avg) against Blanton in his career. Cameron Maybin is 7-for-16 (.438 avg) with 2 doubles and a triple in his career against Blanton. The right-handed Bass will be making his 6th big league start. Bass has a 1.40 ERA in 14 career outings at Petco Park. Opponents are batting .191 against Bass this year.


Phils rookie infielder Freddy Galvis has an 8-game hitting streak entering this series. Galvis is batting .237 on the season thus far.

Carlos Ruiz is 7-for-16 (.437 avg) in 6 road games this season. Ruiz is a .247 hitter in 27 career games against the Padres.

Jimmy Rollins is 3-for-24 (.125 avg) in 6 road contests this year. Rollins batted .138 in 8 games against San Diego last season.

In 24 career games against the Phillies, Chase Headley is a .241 hitter with 1 HR and 7 RBI. Through his first 7 home games this season, Headley posted a .174 batting average. Headley smashed 2 homers on Wednesday against Colorado.

Will Venable has a .147 career batting average in 12 games against the Phillies.

Including his efforts in the postseason, Huston Street has a 9.72 ERA in 9 career games against the Phils.
____________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...

5th spot, Wall, Old timers, Links

The race for the Phillies' fifth starter spot is still on. While it's not fully fair to compare Grapefruit League stats, when some of the pitchers have had "B game" and scrimmage outings mixed in, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco look to be falling behind Chan Ho Park and "Jay" Happ. Happ added to his solid Grapefruit League stats (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 4 games) today against the Rays. Pitching coach Rich Dubee had been displeased with Kendrick even before he surrendered 8 earned runs in 3 innings of work yesterday against the Braves. Park has been working on improving his change up, with (Coach) Jamie Moyer. Park noticed Moyer's location control on his change, so he sought out Moyer to teach him the grip and positioning of the ball. Moyer, of course, feels good about helping anyone on the Phils' staff. Park has been coached by greats like Nolan Ryan with the Rangers and Sandy Koufax with the Dodgers, so Moyer is in great company. Park is working h...