Series Preview: Phillies at Reds, April 15-17

Losers of five straight contests, the Reds (5-7) will host the Phillies (6-6) for a three-game set at Great American Ballpark beginning on Monday night.

In the series opener, the Reds will go with right-hander Bronson Arroyo, who has posted an 8.50 ERA over his last seven regular season starts against the Phils, who will counter with lefty Cliff Lee, who has not walked a batter in his first two starts this season.

The Phillies were victorious in four of seven meetings with Cincinnati last year, including two of three at Great American Ballpark. Dating back to the 2010 National League playoffs, the Phils have won seven of the last eight games in Cincinnati.

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

Monday, 7:10 PM. Cliff Lee (2-0, 1.08 ERA) vs. Bronson Arroyo (1-1, 5.25 ERA). In 11 career starts against the Reds, Lee has a 6-2 record along with a 3.91 ERA. Joey Votto is 5-for-13 (.385 avg) with a double and a home run in his career against Lee. In six career starts at Great American Ballpark, Lee has a 3.79 ERA. Arroyo has a 2-7 record with 6.55 ERA in 11 career appearances against the Phillies. Arroyo has a 3.95 ERA in 116 career starts at Great American Ballpark. Domonic Brown is 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run in his career against Arroyo.

Tuesday, 7:10 PM. Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. Homer Bailey (1-1, 5.73 ERA). In seven career appearances against the Reds, Kendrick has a 3-2 record with a 5.00 ERA and a .269 batting average against. Jay Bruce is 5-for-11 (.455 avg) with a double and two homers in his career against Kendrick. In six career starts against the Phillies, Bailey has a 0-3 record with 5.29 ERA. In 61 career starts at Great American Ballpark, Bailey is 19-19 with a 5.04 ERA.

Wednesday, 7:10 PM. John Lannan (0-0, 2.77 ERA) vs. Mike Leake (0-0, 6.75 ERA). Lannan has a 1-0 record with a 3.86 ERA in four games against the Reds. Brandon Phillips is 4-for-8 (.500 avg) in his career against the lefty Lannan. In five career starts against the Phillies, Leake, the Reds' 1st round draft pick from 2009, has a 0-3 record with a 9.33 ERA. Ryan Howard is 6-for-12 (.500 avg) with two home runs against the right-handed Leake.

In 57 career regular season games against the Reds, Ryan Howard has a .272 average with 19 home runs and 40 RBI. Howard is 1-for-14 (.071 avg) against left-handed pitchers this season.

Michael Young has a .333 average with two homers and 10 RBI in nine career games against the Reds.

In 56 regular season contests against the Reds, Chase Utley has a .286 average with 16 homers and 42 RBI. Utley batted .233 with a home run and four RBI in seven games against the Reds last year.

Reliever Aroldis Chapman has not been scored upon in four career appearances (four innings) against the Phillies. Chapman has a 2.45 ERA and a .148 batting average against in 71 career regular season games at Great American Ballpark.

Jay Bruce is a .295 hitter with 10 home runs and 25 RBI in 33 career regular season games against the Phils. Bruce is batting .241 in six home games this season.

In seven games against the Phillies last season, Brandon Phillips posted a .231 average with a double. Phillips is 2-for-3 with a triple and a home run in his career against Chad Durbin.

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

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. ...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog