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

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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