Series Preview: Phillies at Braves, April 3-4

After a loss to the Braves at Atlanta's Turner Field on Monday, the Phillies will turn to right-hander Roy Halladay to help the team notch its first win of the new season. For Halladay, though, more focus may be on proving he can bounce back from a difficult spring (6.06 ERA, .323 batting average against, in six outings) and an even worse 2012 campaign that saw him not only dealing with performance issues, but an ailing body as well.

Beginning in May last year, Halladay missed roughly seven weeks due to a strained right lat muscle. The physical concerns led to a ballooned ERA that nearly double itself from the previous season (from 2.35 to 4.49).

Additionally, Halladay has struggled against Atlanta, having not recorded a victory over the Braves since September, 2010.

Trying to continue their winning ways, the Braves will counter with lefty Paul Maholm, who was acquired by Atlanta in a trade with the Cubs last July.

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

Wednesday, 7:10 PM. Roy Halladay (11-8, 4.49 ERA in 2012) vs. Paul Maholm (13-11, 3.67 ERA in 2012). In four starts against Atlanta last season, Halladay posted a 0-2 record along with an 11.21 ERA. In six career starts at Turner Field, Halladay is 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA. Freddie Freeman is 7-for-15 (.467 avg) with three homers and nine RBI in his career against Halladay. Maholm went 3-1 with a 3.77 ERA in five starts at Turner Field last season. In nine career starts against the Phils, Maholm has a 4-2 record with a 5.16 ERA. Catcher Humberto Quintero is 6-for-17 (.353 avg) in his career against the 30-year-old Maholm.

Thursday, 7:10 PM. Cliff Lee (6-9, 3.16 ERA in 2012) vs. Kris Medlen (10-1, 1.57 ERA in 2012). Lee has a 4-4 record with a 3.08 ERA in 10 career starts against the Braves. Lee posted a 1.96 ERA in three April starts last season. Lee tallied a 2.45 ERA in 16 starts after the All-Star Break last year. In 13 career games against the Phillies, Medlen is 1-0 with a 5.32 ERA. Medlen has a career 2.52 ERA in 62 games at Turner Field. Ryan Howard is 4-for-7 (.571 avg) with two home runs in his career against Medlen.

In 135 career games against the Braves, Ryan Howard has a .295 average with 42 home runs and 120 RBI. Howard is 2-for-18 (.111 avg) in his career against lefty reliever Eric O'Flaherty.

In 15 career games against the Braves, closer Jonathan Papelbon has a 1-1 record along with six saves and a 1.23 ERA. B.J. Upton is 2-for-14 (.143 avg) in his career against Papelbon.

Michael Young has a .271 average with seven RBI in 16 career games against Atlanta.

Dan Uggla has 26 homers, 74 RBI and a .233 batting average in 124 games against the Phillies. Uggla is a combined 1-for-13 against Mike Adams, Phillippe Aumont, Antonio Bastardo and Jonathan Papelbon in his career.

Justin Upton has a .318 average with five homers and 10 RBI in 25 career games against the Phillies. Upton has a .290 average with two homers in 18 career games at Turner Field.

In 21 contests against the Phillies in his career, closer Craig Kimbrel has 10 saves with a 1.40 ERA. Kimbrel has a 1.07 ERA in 34 career regular season outings at Turner Field.

Phillies team ERA in 2012- 3.83
Braves team ERA in 2012- 3.42

Justin De Fratus Interview Excerpts- May, 2011

Armed with a 2-0 record, 3 saves and a 2.95 ERA in 15 games this season for the Double A Reading Phillies, Justin De Fratus continues to make strides toward his goal of reaching the Major Leagues. Ranked as a top 10 prospect within the Phillies system last off-season, the 23-year-old De Fratus was in camp with the Phillies during big league spring training. In 3 games with the Phils during the Grapefruit League season, De Fratus allowed 4 earned runs in 4 innings and took a loss. He did strike out an impressive 5 batters in those 4 frames, however. Drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 amateur draft, De Fratus stood out as a force in relief last year for both the High A Clearwater Threshers and the R-Phils. In 49 combined games at the two levels, De Fratus posted a 3-0 record with 21 saves and a 1.94 ERA. De Fratus continued his excellent 2011 by pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American qualifiers held in Puerto Rico, helping the Americans finish with a 9-1 record. He also posted out...

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against. The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball w...

Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, August 6-8

The Braves (62-46) travel to Philadelphia to begin a three-game series with the Phillies (49-59) on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. In the past month, the two clubs have faced each other in two separate series, with the Braves winning all six of the contests. Atlanta’s recent dominance over the Phils is the opposite of how things went last season, when the Phillies handed the Braves six losses toward the end of the 2011 season. Those defeats shut the door on Atlanta’s postseason hopes. Read ahead for notes on the pitching the match ups and additional statistical information on this series. Monday, 7:05 PM. Ben Sheets (3-1, 1.46 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (6-6, 3.63 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Sheets has a 3-4 record with a 4.50 ERA. Ty Wigginton is 12-for-36 (.333 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Sheets. The righty Sheets was the Brewers' 1st round draft pick in 1999. In his last 5 starts, Worley has a 2-1 record with a 4.06 ERA. In 9 home s...

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