Series Preview: Phillies at Orioles, June 8-10

Interleague play returns as two teams with similar recent success and completely opposite spots in the standings meet for a three-game series this weekend. The Orioles (32-25), who have lost 8 of their last 11 games, sit atop the American League East division (tied with Tampa Bay). Beginning Friday, they will host the Phillies (28-31), who have dropped 6 straight games and are in last place in the National League East division.

While the Phillies have struggled considerably all season, the club has a winning record of 16-12 on the road.

In the opener of the series, the clubs will send two struggling hurlers to the mound as Joe Blanton, who has surrendered 10 home runs in 19 2/3 innings over his last 4 starts, takes on right-hander Jake Arrieta, who has lost three consecutive starts.

Read ahead for more details on the pitching match ups and plenty more details for this series.

Friday, 7:05 PM. Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.27 ERA) vs. Jake Arrieta (2-7, 5.53 ERA). In 6 career starts against Baltimore, Blanton has a 1-2 record with a 5.09 ERA. In his last 4 starts, Blanton is 0-3 with a 10.98 ERA. Opponents are batting .293 against Blanton in 12 games this season. In 6 home starts this year, Arrieta has a 1-4 record with a 6.43 ERA. Arrieta has gone 0-5 with a 7.96 ERA in his last 6 starts.

Saturday, 4:05 PM. Vance Worley (3-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. Tommy Hunter (2-3, 5.59 ERA). Worley has a 2-1 record with a 2.52 ERA in 4 road starts this season. Worley is 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA in 3 day starts this season. The righty Hunter is 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 5 home starts this season. In his last 6 starts, Hunter is 0-2 with a 6.21 ERA.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. Cliff Lee (0-3, 2.92 ERA) vs. Jason Hammel (6-2, 2.97 ERA). In 4 career starts at Oriole Park, Lee is 2-1 with a 5.26 ERA and a .299 batting average against. Lee has a 2.17 ERA in 4 road starts this season, In 4 career regular season games against the Phillies, Hammel has a 1-2 record with a 6.75 ERA. Hammel is 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA in 4 home starts this season. Shane Victorino is 5-for-10 (.500 avg) against Hammel in his career.

In 22 career games against the Phillies, Mark Reynolds is a .275 hitter with 7 HR and 18 RBI. Reynolds in batting .195 in 13 home games this season.

Adam Jones leads the Orioles in batting average (.307), HR (16), RBI (35), runs scored (39) and stolen bases (9).

Jim Johnson has saved 18 of 19 chances this season while holding opponents to a .165 batting average. The right-handed Johnson has a 1.08 ERA in 9 home games this year.

In 28 road games this season, Shane Victorino has posted a .221 batting average. Victorino is a .300 hitter with 3 doubles and a homer in 6 career games against the Orioles.

Placido Polanco has a .321 average in 28 career games against the Orioles. Polanco has a .295 average in 16 games at Oriole Park.

In 64 career games in Baltimore, Jim Thome has a .223 batting average with 17 HR and 41 RBI. The 41-year-old Thome is batting .100 thus far on the season.

Phillies team ERA- 3.85 (12th in MLB)
Orioles team ERA- 3.73 (9th in MLB)
_________________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

McGwire Stays Phony, Despite Admitting Drug Use

Mark McGwire made an effort to publicly come clean today, admitting to the world that he took performance enhancing drugs during his playing career. Steroids and human growth hormones were among the drugs that McGwire admitted to using. MLB Network featured a one on one interview with Bob Costas and McGwire on Monday evening. The broadcast was virtually garbage, thanks to McGwire. Ahead is a list of quotes from McGwire's interview. McGwire repeatedly stated his point of view that there were no dishonorable intentions involved when taking steroids, and that he was merely using them as a means to recover from varying ailments. When asked if he felt like he cheated... "As I look back now...I can see how people would say that. As far as the talent goes and the hand-eye coordination, the ability, the genetics I was given...I don't see it." "I did not take this for any strength purposes." Denial. Read on for similar B.S. He whined about the abuse he's taken at

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against. The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball wi

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog