Series Preview: Phillies at Marlins, June 29-July 1

ollowing a 5-5 homestand, the Phillies (36-42) hit the road to begin a 3-game series against the division rival Marlins (35-40) in Miami beginning Friday night.

In the series opener, Cliff Lee will take the mound, still seeking his first win of the season. At the same point last year, Lee had already notched 9 victories. The Marlins will counter with right-hander Josh Johnson, who gave up 1 run and just 2 hits over 7 innings in his latest start last Saturday against Toronto.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and other key statistical notes from this series.

Friday, 7:10 PM. Cliff Lee (0-4, 3.72 ERA) vs. Josh Johnson (4-5, 3.96 ERA). Cliff Lee has posted a 5.19 ERA in his last 4 road starts. In 5 career starts against the Marlins, Lee has a 2-0 record with a 2.31 ERA. Lee has a 3.18 ERA in 8 night starts this season. In 15 career games against the Phillies, Johnson has a 5-4 record with a 3.68 ERA. Johnson is 3-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 9 home starts this season. In his last 4 starts, Johnson is 1-2 with a 1.95 ERA. Placido Polanco is 1-for-10 (.100 avg) in his career against Johnson.

Saturday, 4:10 PM. Cole Hamels (10-3, 3.03 ERA) vs. Mark Buehrle (6-8, 3.55 ERA). In 6 road games this season, Hamels has a 5-0 record and a 3.43 ERA. Hamels is 2-2 with a 4.28 ERA in 5 June starts. Buehrle has a 3-2 record with a 5.23 ERA in 5 career starts against the Phillies. In his last 5 starts, Buehrle has a 1-4 record with a 4.20 ERA. Hector Luna is 6-for-8 (.750 avg) in his career against Buehrle.

Sunday, 1:10 PM. Joe Blanton (7-6, 4.87 ERA) vs. Ricky Nolasco (6-6, 4.78 ERA). In his last 4 starts, Blanton is 3-0 with a 3.94 ERA. Blanton has a 7-3 record with a 3.49 ERA in 11 career starts against the Marlins. Nolasco is 7-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 16 career games against the Phils. In his last 4 starts Nolasco has a 0-3 record with a 6.14 ERA.

Carlos Ruiz has a .398 batting average with 5 HR and 22 RBI in 30 road games this season. In 78 career games against the Marlins, Ruiz is a .260 hitter with 6 homers and 30 RBI.

In 26 June games, Hunter Pence has a .305 batting average with 3 HR and 15 RBI. The righty hitting Pence is batting .217 with 2 homers and 5 RBI against left-handed pitchers this season.

Chase Utley has a .296 average with 24 HR and 89 RBI in 124 games against the Marlins in his career.

In 33 games against the Phillies, Giancarlo Stanton has a .234 average with 6 HR and 12 RBI.

Omar Infante is a .234 hitter with 5 HR and 19 RBI in 70 career games against the Phillies. Infante is 8-for-24 (.333 avg) with 2 HR and 2 RBI in 6 games against the Phils this season.

Hanley Ramirez has a .295 average with 15 HR and 40 RBI in 101 career games against the Phils. Ramirez is hitting .225 in 23 June games.

Phillies team ERA- 3.92 (11th in MLB)
Marlins team ERA- 3.95 (14th in MLB)

_______________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

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...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog