Series Preview: Marlins at Phillies, June 1-3

Fresh off a successful 5-2 road trip, the Phillies (27-25) return home to host the Marlins (29-22) for a 3-game set at Citizens Bank Park. The rivalry between the two clubs has been considerably one-sided recently, with the Phils coming away victorious in 8 of their past 10 series against Miami.

While the Phillies are in last place in the National League's East division, they sit only 2 1/2 games behind the second place Marlins and 3 games behind the first place Nationals.

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

Friday, 7:05PM. Mark Buehrle (5-4, 3.26 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (1-4, 4.10 ERA). In 4 career starts against the Phillies, Buehrle has a 3-1 record with a 4.88 ERA and a .294 batting average against. In his last 5 starts, the left-handed Buehrle is 4-0 with a 3.19 ERA. Hector Luna is 5-for-5 in his career against Buehrle. Kendrick is 0-3 with a 5.28 ERA in 4 home games this season. Kendrick threw a complete game shutout in his last appearance against St. Louis. Gaby Sanchez is 8-for-18 (.444 avg) with a double and a HR in his career against Kendrick.

Saturday, 4:05 PM. Ricky Nolasco (5-3, 4.26 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (8-1, 2.43 ERA). In 15 career games against the Phillies, Nolasco has a 6-4 record with a 3.55 ERA. Nolasco is 1-3 with a 7.06 ERA in his last 4 starts. Shane Victorino is 4-for-29 (.138 avg) in his career against Nolasco. Hamels has a 4-1 record with a 2.36 ERA in 5 home starts this season. In his last 9 starts, Hamels is 8-0 with a 2.22 ERA.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. Carlos Zambrano (3-3, 3.00 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (4-5, 5.05 ERA). Zambrano has a 4-4 record with a 4.26 ERA in 10 career games against the Phillies. Zambrano has a 1.75 ERA in 5 road starts this season. In 5 home starts this season, Blanton has a 3-1 record with a 3.90 ERA. In his last 3 starts, Blanton is 0-2 with a 10.26 ERA. Chris Coghlan is 7-for-14 (.500 avg) in his career against Blanton.

In 10 road games this season, Coghlan has posted a .105 batting average, while he is batting .134 overall in 30 games. Coghlan is a .322 hitter in 32 career games against the Phillies.

Heath Bell is 1-1 with 5 saves, 0 blown saves and a 3.77 ERA in 13 career games at Citizens Bank Park.

In 28 May games, Logan Morrison posted a .176 batting average. Morrison has a .275/.377/.529 line in 15 career games at Citizens Bank Park.

Jonathan Papelbon has a 4.09 ERA in 11 home games this season.

In 22 home games this year, Juan Pierre has posted a .222 batting average, which is drastically different than his .402 batting average in 23 road games. Pierre, a former Marlin, is a .290 hitter in 40 career games against Miami.

John Mayberry Jr.'s OPS is 200 points higher at home this year than it is on the road (.720/.520). Mayberry Jr. is a .314 hitter in 19 career games against Miami.

Marlins team batting average for May- .260 (6th in the National League)
Phillies team batting average for May- .282 (3rd in the National League)
________________________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

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...

Phreestyle Battle & Notes

Unrelated to baseball, really...but it's fun and our Phils are off today. This new kid on the hip hop scene, Charles Hamilton , whose single Brooklyn Girl is ripping up radio and video count downs, was at PSU for a performance recently. A freestyle battle ensued, and as you'll see, the Penn State student held his own. Stay tuned for the ending. It's the best part. Here are some random Phillies-in-idle baseball thoughts and notes- Colbert Hamels is slated to make his Grapefruit League debut tomorrow vs. Team Canada. Shane Victorino is going to wear #50 on his jersey for Team USA, a nod to Hawaii Five-O. Brad Lidge is likely to not see game action till next week, after he throws some more bullpen sessions and works out the tightness in his forearm. Albert Pujols is declaring "respect for his country" as reasoning for sitting out of the Cardinals' exhibition this week against Team Dominican Republic. He told reporters, "I don’t want to play against them...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog