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.
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