Series Preview: Rockies at Phillies, September 7-9

The Phillies (66-71) will host the last place Rockies (56-80) in a three-game set this weekend.

In the series opener, the Phils will send lefty ace Cliff Lee, who has the opportunity to win three consecutive starts for the first time this season, to the mound. Colorado will counter with left-hander Jeff Francis, who allowed 1 run in 5 innings of work in a no decision when he last faced the Phillies in June.

The two clubs have equally split their six previous meetings this season.

To read more about the pitching match ups and other key statistical details on this series, read head.

Friday, 7:05 PM. Jeff Francis (5-4, 5.73 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (4-7, 3.52 ERA). Lee is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 2 career starts against the Rockies. In his last 4 starts, Lee has a 2-0 record with a 1.91 ERA. Lee has a 1-5 record with a 4.14 ERA in 11 starts at home this year. Francis is 2-0 with a 5.14 ERA in his last 6 starts. In 8 road starts this season, Francis has a 2-1 record with a 4.69 ERA. Jimmy Rollins is 7-for-15 (.467 avg) with a double and a HR in his career against Francis.

Saturday, 7:05 PM. Tyler Chatwood (4-4, 5.53 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (14-6, 3.04 ERA). Chatwood has a 1-2 record with a with a 5.82 ERA in 6 road games this season. The righty Chatwood was a 2nd draft pick by the Angles in 2008 and was acquired in last off-season's trade for Chris Iannetta. In 7 starts since the All-Star break, Chatwood is 3-3 with a 4.60 ERA. Hamels has a 3-0 record with a 2.15 ERA in his last 5 starts. In 12 home starts this season, Hamels has a 6-3 record with a 2.87 ERA. Hamels' next win would tie his career single season high from 2007.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. Drew Pomeranz (1-8, 4.93 ERA) vs. Tyler Cloyd (1-1, 2.77 ERA). Pomeranz is 1-3 with a 4.86 ERA in 8 road starts this season. The lefty Pomeranz hasn't won since July 6th, a span of 10 starts. Opponents are batting .224 against the rookie right-hander Cloyd since his promotion to the big leagues. Cloyd was an 18th round draft pick by the Phillies in 2008.

Carlos Gonzalez has an offensive line of .377/.444/.627 in 63 home games this year while he has posted a .235/.308/.416 line in 59 road games this season. Gonzalez's career OPS splits are .269 lower on the road than at Coors Field.

Rookie catcher Wilin Rosario has a team high 23 HR this season. In 4 career games against the Phillies, Rosario has a .375 batting average with 3 HR and 8 RBI.

Colorado closer Rafael Betancourt has a 0.75 ERA in 25 road games this season. Betancourt has posted a 0-1 record with 1 save, 1 blown save and a 1.23 ERA in 7 career outings against the Phillies.

Jimmy Rollins has posted a .228 batting average in 50 games since the All-Star break. In 71 career regular season games against the Rockies, Rollins has a .311 batting average with 8 HR and 35 RBI in 71 games.

In 61 home games this season, John Mayberry Jr. has posted a .270 average with 7 HR and 20 RBI. Mayberry is batting .289 in 47 games since the All-Star break.

In 46 regular season games against Colorado, Chase Utley has a .348 batting average with 12 HR and 60 RBI. Utley has a .906 OPS in 30 home games this season.

Rockies team OPS since the All-Star break- .753 (12th in MLB)
Phillies team OPS since the All-Star break- .702 (23rd in MLB)

_______________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog