Series Preview: Cardinals at Phillies, April 18-21

Here's a review of the pitching match ups and other key stats from the upcoming four-game series between the Cardinals and Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Thursday, 7:05 PM. Adam Wainwright (2-1, 2.05 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (0-2, 7.56 ERA). The righty Wainwright is 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA in nine career regular season outings against the Phils. Wainwright has a 0.56 ERA in three career regular season games at Citizens Bank Park. Jimmy Rollins is 7-for-20 (.350 avg) in his career against Wainwright. In nine career regular season games against the Cardinals, Hamels has a 2-3 record with a 3.27 ERA. Former Phillie Ty Wigginton is 5-for-9 (.556 avg) in his career against Hamels.

Friday, 7:05 PM. Jaime Garcia (1-0, 1.86 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (1-2, 7.63 ERA). In seven career outings against the Phillies, Garcia has a 2-2 record and a 2.00 ERA. Jimmy Rollins is 1-for-14 (.071 avg) in his career against Garcia. In six regular season starts against St. Louis, Halladay has posted a 3-2 record with a 2.70 ERA. Matt Holliday is 2-for-10 (.200 avg) in regular season action against Hamels.

Saturday, 7:05 PM. Lance Lynn (2-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (2-0, 1.52 ERA). Lynn, a righty, allowed four earned runs in five innings during his lone start against the Phils last season. Ryan Howard is 2-for-3 against Lynn with a home run. Lee is 3-2 with a 2.44 ERA in six career starts against the Cards. Carlos Beltran is 3-for-19 (.158 avg) in his regular season career against Lee.

Sunday, 8:05 PM. Jake Westbrook (1-1, 0.00 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 5.40 ERA). In five career regular season starts against the Phillies, Westbrook has a 2-1 record with a 4.39 ERA. Westbrook has a 1-1 record with a 3.38 ERA in three career regular season starts at Citizens Bank Park. Michael Young is 11-for-27 (.407 avg) with two doubles and a home run in his career against Westbrook. In eight career appearances against St. Louis, Kendrick is 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA. Matt Holliday is 2-for-18 (.111 avg) in his career against Kendrick.

David Freese is a .206 hitter in 10 career regular season games at Citizens Bank Park. Freese is hitless in two road games this year.

Matt Holliday is 6-for-30 (.200 avg) in seven road contests this season. Holliday has a .302 average with five homers in 24 regular season games at Citizens Bank Park.

Pete Kozma is batting .321 with a homer and five RBI in seven road games this season.

Ben Revere is batting .194 in 15 games this season. In his career, Revere's batting average is 50 points higher when he bats second in the order (.307) than when he bats first in the order (.257).

In 53 regular season games against the Cards, Chase Utley is a .321 hitter with seven home runs and 36 RBI. Utley is batting .273 in six home games this year.

In six career regular season games against St. Louis, Dominic Brown is 2-for-20 (.100 avg) with one RBI. Brown is batting .182 with two homers in six home games this year. The 25-year-old is set to have his back examined after feeling a pop during Wednesday's game.

Phillies lefty hurler John Lannan was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a knee issue.

Cardinals team runs scored- 79 (5th in MLB)
Phillies team runs scored- 52 (23rd in MLB)

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

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...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

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