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)

______________________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...

PhoulBallz Interview: First round pick Bryson Stott

Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign. En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good. You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day. I would say that's the biggest difference. But I...

Velasquez shut down, Eflin on deck?

Eflin with Reading in 2015, image- Jay Floyd Following Vincent Velasquez leaving his start after just two pitches for the Phillies on Wednesday, righty prospect Zach Eflin was pulled from his start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett. The 22-year-old sports a 5-1 record with a 3.14 ERA and a .210 batting average against in 10 starts for the IronPigs this season. He could take the place of Velasquez if he is required to miss any additional time. Initial word on Velasquez after he threw two fastballs that clocked in the 86-87 MPH range (considerably slower than the 94 MPH he averages) and was swiftly pulled from his outing, is that he has a biceps strain. He'll be further evaluated in the coming days. Prior to the regular season, Eflin got a taste of competing against big leaguers when he was charged with 12 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits while striking out two and walking one with a wild pitch in three innings of work in an intrasquad exhibition that pitted the Phils...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog