Series Preview: Phillies at Braves, July 27-29

With their newly extended lefty ace in tow, the Phillies (45-54) hit the road and visit the Braves (54-44) to begin a three-game set on Friday night at Turner Field in Atlanta.

This week, the Phils signed their three-time All-Star and former World Series Most Valuable Player Cole Hamels to a six-year $144 million pact. Hamels was the team's 1st round draft selection back in 2002 and he'll start the series opener.

The Phillies will begin the road trip without third baseman Placido Polanco, who was placed on the disabled list with back inflammation, retroactive to July 23rd. International League hit leader Kevin Frandsen was promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Polanco's void on the big league roster.

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

Friday, 7:35 PM. Cole Hamels (11-4, 3.23 ERA) vs. Ben Sheets (2-0, 0.00 ERA). In his last 5 starts, Hamels is 1-1 with a 3.19 ERA. Hamels has a 6-1 record with a 3.38 ERA in 9 road starts this season. In 13 career games at Turner Field, Hamels has a 5-3 record with a 4.06 ERA. Sheets is 2-4 with a 4.88 ERA in 8 career starts against the Phillies. Ty Wigginton is 12-for-36 (.333 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Sheets. In 9 career starts at Turner Field, Sheets is 6-3 with a 3.92 ERA.

Saturday, 7:10 PM. Joe Blanton (8-8, 4.70 ERA) vs. Mike Minor (5-7, 5.49 ERA). In 13 career games against the Braves, Blanton has a 2-5 record with a 4.87 ERA. Blanton is 2-2 with a 3.82 ERA in his last 5 starts. Brian McCann is 10-for-24 (.417 avg) with 3 HR against Blanton in his career. The lefty Minor is 3-2 with a 4.69 ERA in 8 starts at home this season. Opponents are batting .256 against Minor this season.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. Roy Halladay (4-5, 4.32 ERA) vs. Tim Hudson (9-4, 3.71 ERA). Halladay is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 4 career starts at Turner Field. Halladay has a 3-2 record with a 4.36 ERA in 7 road starts this season. Chipper Jones is 8-for-16 (.500 avg) with 3 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Halladay. In 23 career starts against the Phillies, Hudson has an 8-8 record with a 3.54 ERA. Ryan Howard is 19-for-55 (.345 avg) with 3 doubles and 6 homers in his career against Hudson.

In 134 career games against the Braves, Chase Utley is a .280 hitter with 19 HR and 67 RBI. Utley is batting .222 in 10 road games this season.

Carlos Ruiz has posted a .373 batting average in 42 road games this year. Ruiz is a .277 hitter in 38 career games at Turner Field.

In 19 July games, Hunter Pence is batting .189 with 1 HR. Pence is batting .293 in 49 road games this season.

Chipper Jones is a .334 hitter with 47 HR and 146 RBI in 235 games against the Phillies. Jones is batting .318 in 31 home games this year.

Martin Prado has a .305 average with 9 HR and 34 RBI in 73 games against the Phillies. Prado is batting .204 in 13 games since the All-Star break.

In 16 career games against the Phillies, Craig Kimbrel has a 0-0 record with 7 saves, 2 blown saves and a 1.26 ERA.

Phillies team ERA in July- 4.63 (23rd in MLB)
Braves team ERA in July- 3.88 (17th in MLB)

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This Guy Speaks For All of You

This individual, interviewed by FOX 29 on Friday as the Phillies arrived back at Citizens Bank Park, said it best. When asked how he felt regarding the Phillies, he told Steve Keeley that he was, "Stoked, baby!" The unidentified phanatic then proclaimed, "We are talking about the Fightins here, the Fightins! Said!" Check out the media player below, as the transcribed version certainly does not do this phireball of phandom justice. The Phillies forced game 6 of the National League Championship Series with a 4-2 victory over the Giants in San Francisco on Thursday night. Game 6 will feature Roy Oswalt vs. Jonathan Sanchez in a return pitching match up from game 2. First pitch is scheduled for 7:57 pm EST at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Be sure to tune in on 97.3 ESPN's Weekend Sports Guide with Tyrone Johnson this afternoon around 1:15pm to hear me chatting about the Phillies! 97.3 is based in Atlantic City. You can listen live online HERE . _________

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