Series Preview: Phillies at Blue Jays, June 15-17

Inter-league play continues with a battle between the National League's and the American League's East division basement dwellers, as the Phillies (31-34) head to Toronto to face the Blue Jays (31-32) in a three-game series beginning Friday night.

The Phillies won 2 of 3 meetings with the Blue Jays in a series played at Toronto's Rogers Centre last season.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and other statistical info on this series.

Friday, 7:07 PM. Vance Worley (3-2, 3.00 ERA) vs. Drew Hutchison (5-3, 4.66 ERA). Worley is 2-1 with a 2.09 ERA in 5 road starts this season. Opponents are batting .240 against Worley in 2012. The righty, Hutchison, is 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in 4 home starts this season. Hutchison was Toronto's 15th round draft pick in 2009.

Saturday, 1:07 PM. Cliff Lee (0-3, 3.18 ERA) vs. Ricky Romero (7-1, 4.15 ERA). In 10 career starts against the Blue Jays, Lee has a 2-5 record with a 4.23 ERA. Lee is 0-2 with a 4.54 ERA in his last 5 starts. Rajai Davis is 6-for-11 with a double and a triple in his career against Lee. Romero is 1-0 with a 2.21 ERA and a .187 batting average against in 3 games against the Phillies. Carlos Ruiz and Placido Polanco are a combined 2-for-15 (.133 avg) in their careers vs. the lefty Romero. In 6 home starts this year, Romero is 5-0 with a 3.51 ERA.

Sunday, 1:07 PM. Kyle Kendrick (2-6, 5.08 ERA) vs. Jesse Chavez (0-0, 5.40 ERA). In 2 career starts against the Blue Jays, Kendrick has no decisions and a 6.75 ERA. Kendrick is 1-2 with a 4.75 ERA in 8 road games this year. The right-handed Chavez will be making just his second appearance for Toronto. In his career, Chavez, who formerly pitched with Pittsburgh, Atlanta and KC, has a 1-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in 8 relief appearances against the Phils.

In 24 career games against the Phillies, Jose Bautista has a .282 average with 5 HR and 9 RBI. Bautista is batting .222 in 32 home games this season.

Edwin Encarnacion is batting .296 with 12 HR and 26 RBI in 31 home games this season. Encarnacion is a combined 3-for-18 (.167 avg) in his career against Lee and Kendrick.

In 15 career games against the Phillies, Colby Rasmus has a .216 batting average with 4 doubles. Rasmus is batting .227 in 30 home games this year.

Carlos Ruiz is a .231 hitter with 3 doubles and 6 RBI in 11 career games against Toronto. In 28 road games this season, Ruiz has tallied a 1.130 OPS.

In 17 career games at Rogers Centre Placido Polanco is a .179 hitter with 1 HR and 5 RBI.

Jimmy Rollins is batting .317 with 2 homers, 7 RBI and 10 runs scored in 13 June games. Rollins is a .337 hitter in 21 career games against Toronto.

Phillies team ERA- 3.98 (16th in MLB)
Blue Jays team ERA- 4.06 (19th in MLB)
____________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Ibanez Makes Hall of Fame History

It's every player's dream to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. For Raul Ibanez , who hasn't had the sort of career that would ensure his face would one day be cast in bronze and displayed on the Hall walls, it was necessary to find a less common way to earn a spot in the annals of baseball history. Recently, Ibanez became the very first big league player to spend the night in the plaque gallery at the storied Hall of Fame. As detailed on the National Baseball Hall of Fame's website , Ibanez accompanied his son's Little League travel team to the Hall, where they participated in the Museum's "Extra Innings Overnight", a program that allows groups to travel to Cooperstown, NY in order learn more about the great game of baseball. Ibanez's son, Raul Jr., is 11-years-old and plays baseball in Lower Merion, PA. The article on the Hall of Fame's website quoted Ibanez as being excited to see some recent Phillies milestones represent...

PhoulBallz Interview: Off-season check in with 1B Kyle Martin

Kyle Martin, image- Jay Floyd First base prospect Kyle Martin grew up in South Carolina as a Phillies fan, admiring slugger Jim Thome , so it was a dream come true for his entire family when the organization made him their 4th round draft choice this year. A lefty batting power threat, Martin quickly made his professional debut with Class A Lakewood. The transition to the minors seemed easy, as the 23-year-old tallied a .279 average with five home runs and 37 RBI in 65 games for the BlueClaws. I recently spoke with the University of South Carolina product about his remarkable 2015 as a whole and he ranked how playing in the Phillies organization ranks against playing for Team USA in this year's Premiere 12 tournament. Read ahead for that interview and click here for my previous feature on the six-foot-two 240-pounder. -Are you still enjoying downtime right now or have you reached the stage of your off-season where you are back to baseball activities and knocking the ru...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog