Skip to main content

Series Preview: Indians at Phillies, May 14-15

Interleague play returns to Citizens Bank Park as the Indians (21-16) come to town for a quick two-game set against the Phillies (18-21).

Having won seven of their last 10 contests, the Indians look to continue their success against the Phils, who were pounded by a total score of 20-2 over two games, both losses, in Cleveland a couple weeks back.

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


Tuesday, 7:05 PM. Scott Kazmir (2-1, 4.87 ERA) vs. Jonathan Pettibone (2-0, 3.63 ERA). The lefty Kazmir has a 2.65 ERA over his last three starts. Kazmir won his lone career start against the Phillies back in 2006. In two home starts, the rookie right-hander Pettibone is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA. Opponents are hitting .154 with runners in scoring position against Pettibone.

Wednesday, 1:05 PM. Corey Kluber (2-2, 5.64 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (1-5, 4.18 ERA). The righty Kluber has a 5.77 ERA in nine career road games. Delmon Young is 3-for-6 with a double in his career against Kluber. Hamels is 0-1 with six runs allowed in five innings pitched in his lone career start against Cleveland. In four home starts this season, Hamels is 0-3 with a 4.71 ERA. Mark Reynolds is 2-for-10 with two home runs in his career against Hamels.


Indians closer Chris Perez has a 5.06 ERA in five career games against the Phillies.

Mark Reynolds is batting .322 in 17 road games this season. In 27 games against the Phils, Reynolds is a .260 hitter with eight home runs and 20 RBI. Reynold is tied for the American League lead in HR with 11.

In 12 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Jason Giambi has a .348 average with five homers and 10 RBI. Giambi is batting .158 in six road games this season.

In 34 career games against the Indians, Ben Revere is a .294 hitter with 13 steals.

Carlos Ruiz is 1-for-16 (.063 avg) in four career games against Cleveland. Ruiz is a career .267 hitter in 365 games at Citizens Bank Park.

Ryan Howard has a .355 average with two homers in eight games against the Indians. In 16 home games this year, Howard is batting .321 four home runs and 10 RBI.

Indians team runs scored- 178 (6th in MLB)
Phillies team runs scored- 138 (25th in MLB)

Indians team bullpen ERA- 2.77 (4th in MLB)
Phillies team bullpen ERA- 4.00 (22nd in MLB)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...