Series Preview: Astros at Phillies, May 14-15

The Phillies (16-19) will try to get on a roll and win consecutive games for the first time this month as they host the Astros (15-19) for a quick two-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

In the series opener, the Phillies will sent righty hurler Joe Blanton, who has not lost at Citizens Bank Park since May 14th, 2011, to the mound. The Astros will counter with right-hander Lucas Harrell, who has never faced the Phillies before.

The Astros were swept by the Phillies in their 3-game series in Philadelphia last year.

Read ahead for more details on the pitching match ups for this series as well as plenty more statistical info.

Monday, 7:05 PM. Lucas Harrell (2-2, 4.58 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (3-3, 3.24 ERA). Harrell has posted a 0-2 record with a 6.23 ERA in 4 road starts this season. Harrell is 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA in his last 4 starts. In 24 career big league games, opponents have posted a .300 batting average against Harrell. Blanton is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 4 career games against Houston. In 3 home starts this season, Blanton is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. Carlos Lee is 6-for-15 (.400 avg) with 3 doubles in his career against Blanton.

Tuesday, 1.05 PM. Jordan Lyles (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (0-1, 2.17 ERA). Lyles is the likely candidate to take this start for Houston...it would be his 2nd big league start this season. In 6 starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Lyles has posted a 5-0 record with a 3.49 ERA. Lyles, a right-hander, was the Astros' supplemental 1st round draft selection in (38th overall) in 2009. In 3 career starts against Houston, Lee is 1-2 with a 6.89 ERA. Carlos Lee is 8-for-21 (.381 avg) with a triple and 3 HR in his career against Cliff Lee. Opponents are batting .192 against Cliff Lee this season.

Former Phillie Brett Myers is perfect in 9 save opportunities and has posted a 0.77 ERA this season for Houston. Myers has a 4.10 ERA in 98 career games at Citizens Bank Park.

In 9 May games Chris Johnson is batting .353 with 4 HR and 8 RBI. Johnson is a .293 hitter in 13 career games against Philadelphia.

Carlos Lee is a .278 career hitter in 52 games against the Phillies. In 25 games at Citizens Bank Park, Lee has posted a .317 average with 8 doubles, a triple, 9 HR and 24 RBI.

After joining the Phillies last season from Houston, Hunter Pence went 4-for-11 (.364 avg) in 3 games against his former team. Pence is batting .207 in 16 home games this season.

Carlos Ruiz is batting .361 in 11 games this month. In 27 career games against Houston, Ruiz has a .256 batting average with 3 HR and 12 RBI.

In 69 career games against Houston, Jimmy Rollins is a .307 hitter with 10 HR and 28 RBI. Rollins is batting .328 in 16 home games this season, compared to .139 on the road.

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Hockey Taking Over CBP

The takeover has begun. As the holiday season approaches and winter becomes more imminent, January 2nd, the date of this season's NHL Winter Classic draws nearer. In 2012, Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park will play host to the annual regular season hockey contest that is broadcast on national television. The ballpark is otherwise home to Major League Baseball's Phillies. In the upcoming game, the Flyers will take on New York Rangers. It will be New York's first Winter Classic appearance, while the Flyers, who lost at Boston in 2010, will be seeing action in the annual event for the second time. This will mark the fifth year for the NHL's premiere regular season contest, which first took place in 2008 at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL's Bills. The process to convert the baseball playing field into an ice rink, in time for the week of hockey events set to take place at CBP, began this week. In addition to the January 2nd regular season...

Division Lead Back to 3 Games

Six shut out innings by the bullpen, a diving catch by Jayson Werth and two homeruns by Chase Utley won the game for the Phillies and got their lead in the NL East back to 3 games over the Metropolitans. It was a surprising effort from the bullpen as Scott Eyre, JC Romero, Jack Taschner, Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson and even Chan Ho Park shut down the Mets lineup in the extra inning victory. It was a risky play by Werth, who could have allowed the winning run to score if he hadn't made the catch on the ball batted by David Wright. It was clutch hitting by Utley, who, with his second homerun of the game, gave the Phillies an 11th inning lead that they would not let up. Huge win for the Phillies! ------------------------- Stats to ponder- Jimmy Rollins in the lead off spot this season- 49 games, .208 avg (47-for-226), .244 OBP, 1 HR, 29 runs. Jimmy Rollins batting any place else in the lineup this season- 7 games, .409 avg (9-for-22), .440 OBP, 3 HR, 6 runs. Carlos Ruiz against the Mets ...

Ryan Madson is acting questionable

I've seen similar types of "poking fun" entries on other Phillies blogs. When this picture came across my desk today, I figured, "Why not...?" Ryan Madson was out on the town (Manayunk) over the weekend and was photographed acting pretty with a purse slung over his shoulder and being chummy with a friend of mine. Can I really call him a friend, if he's actually my friends' friend , and I only prank called him once? Sure, why the heck not?!

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