Skip to main content

Series Preview: Rays at Phillies, June 22-24

After failing to capitalize on a chance to complete a sweep of the lowly Rockies on Thursday night, the Phillies (33-38) will return to interleague competition as the Rays (38-31) visit Philadelphia in a rematch of the 2008 World Series.

In the three-game series opener, Phillies Ace Cliff Lee will continue his quest for that elusive first win of the season. Tampa Bay will counter with righty James Shields, who notched the only win for the Rays in in that '08 Fall Classic.

The Phillies and Rays have not faced each other since 2009, when the Phils dropped two of three contests at Tampa Bay.

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

Friday, 7:05 PM. James Shields (7-4, 3.72 ERA) vs Cliff Lee (0-3, 3.48 ERA). In 7 road starts this season, Sheilds has a 5-2 record with a 3.72 ERA. Shields has a 1-3 record with a 3.99 ERA in his last 6 starts. Placido Polanco is 8-for-17 (.471 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Shields. In 13 career starts against the Rays, Lee has a 6-5 record and a 2.87 ERA. Lee is 0-3 with a 3.53 ERA in 5 home starts this season. B.J. Upton is 7-for-21 (.333 avg) with 3 doubles in his career against Lee.

Saturday, 4:05 PM. Alex Cobb (3-3, 3.82 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (2-7, 5.29 ERA). The right-hander Cobb, Tampa Bays' 6th round draft choice from 2006, is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA in 2 road starts this season. Cobb threw 7 shut out innings while striking out 10 batters in his last outing against Miami. Kendrick is 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA in his previous 3 starts. In 6 home outings this year, Kendrick has a 1-4 record with a 5.47 ERA.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. David Price (9-4, 3.08 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (10-3, 3.25 ERA). The lefty Price is 5-2 with a 3.75 ERA in 8 road starts this season. Juan Pierre and Ty Wigginton are a combined 4-for-23 (.174 avg) against Price. In 8 home starts this season, Hamels has a 5-3 record with a 3.11 ERA. All 3 of Hamels' losses this year have come in day games at home.


In 12 career regular season games against the Phillies, Carlos Pena has a .279 average with 1 HR and 5 RBI. Pena has a .193 batting average in 33 road games this year.

Hideki Matsui has posted a .158 batting average in 17 games with the Rays this year.

Fernando Rodney is having an exceptional campaign for the Rays, as he sports a 2-1 record with 20 saves, a 1.10 ERA and a .174 batting average against in 34 games. Jim Thome is 3-for-9 (.333 avg) with a HR in his career against Rodney.

In 9 career games against the Rays, Hunter Pence has a .222 batting average with 2 HR and 6 RBI. Pence has a .254 batting average with 6 homers and 18 RBI in 34 home games this season.

Jimmy Rollins, in 19 games this month, has a .310 batting average with 8 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HR and 10 RBI. Rollins' lead-off homer on Thursday was the 39th of his career.

Placido Polanco is a .304 hitter with 3 HR in 28 games against Tampa Bay. Polanco is batting .292 in 29 home games this season.

In 11 home games this season, Mike Fontenot is batting .368. The lefty hitting Fontenot is 0-for-8 against left-handed pitchers this season.

________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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

Who is Your Favorite Willie 'Mays' Hayes?

PhoulBallz.com is wondering which individual who has portrayed Willie "Mays" Hayes is the favorite of the public. Hayes, of course, is the character made famous in the Major League motion picture series. In Major League , Willie "Mays" Hayes was portrayed by budding Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, who would go on to action movie superstardom. Snipes has starred in major motion pictures like the Blade trilogy, Passenger 57 , Undisputed and many more. Snipes remains an impact Hollywood actor, despite legal troubles related to income tax evasion. Snipes was replaced for the sequel, Major League II when his busy career, and possibly the film's budget, would not allow him to return, by Omar Epps. Another budding actor, Epps had previously worked with director David S. Ward, on the film The Program , and landed the role of Hayes, who had become a Hollywood action star over the off-season that occured between the two films. Epps' career portraying athletes rolle

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