Series Preview: Marlins at Phillies, May 2-5

The Phillies (12-16) are set to kick off a four-game series as host to the Marlins (8-20). The series marks the returns of Phils Gold Glove Award winner Placido Polanco and speedster Juan Pierre to Philadelphia for the first time since each man parted ways via free agency.

The Phillies have won nine of their last 12 meetings with the Marlins. Additionally, the Phils were victorious in six of nine games against Miami at Philly's Citizens Bank Park last season.

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

Thursday, 7:05 PM. Alex Sanabia (2-3, 4.85 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (2-1, 2.41 ERA). Sanabia, a 24-year-old righty, allowed one earned run in six innings pitched in his lone career start against the Phillies in 2011. In 13 career road outings, Sanabia has a 4-1 record along with a 3.32 ERA. In three home starts this year, Kendrick is 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA. In 19 career games against Miami, Kendrick has a 10-2 record with a 3.71 ERA, including 7-0 in his last nine starts against them. Greg Dobbs is 1-for-12 (.083 avg) in his career against Kendrick.

Friday, 7:05 PM. Ricky Nolasco (2-2, 3.82 ERA) vs. Jonathan Pettibone (1-0, 4.35 ERA). Nolasco has an 8-5 record with a 3.73 ERA in 19 career games against the Phils. In three road starts this season, the right-handed Nolasco has a 1-1 record with a 3.86 ERA. Domonic Brown is 5-for-9 with a double and a triple against Nolasco in his career. Pettibone was the Phillies' 3rd round draft choice in 2008. In his lone home starts, Pettibone allowed two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings, earning a no decision, against the Pirates on April 22nd.

Saturday, 7:05 PM. Jose Fernandez (0-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (1-3, 4.78 ERA). The rookie right-hander, Fernandez, is 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in three road starts this year. Fernandez threw six scoreless innings against the Phillies on April 13th and did not earn a decision in that outing. In three home starts this season, Hamels has a 0-2 record with a 5.66 ERA. Hamels has a 3.29 ERA in 25 career starts against the Marlins.

Sunday, 2:35 PM. Kevin Slowey (0-2, 2.15 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (2-3, 6.75 ERA). Slowey has a 10.29 ERA in two career starts against the Phils. Slowey, a right-hander, has a 5.10 ERA in 41 career day games. In three home starts this season, Halladay is 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA. Greg Dobbs is 9-for-21 (.429 avg) with three doubles and a homer in his career against Halladay.

Placido Polanco is a .296 career hitter against the Phillies. Polanco is a .310 hitter in 267 career games at Citizens Bank Park.

Juan Pierre posted a .234 average in 69 games at Citizens Bank Park last season. Pierre is batting .105 with runners in scoring position this year.

Veteran reliever Chad Qualls has a 7.94 ERA in 36 career games at Citizens Bank Park. Qualls has a 2.77 ERA in 11 appearances this season.

Carlos Ruiz is a .270 hitter with six home runs and 34 RBI in 85 career games against the Marlins. Ruiz batted .368 with runners in scoring position last year.

Chase Utley is batting .320 with two homers and seven RBI in 14 home games this season. Utley's 96 career RBI against the Marlins are his most against any team.

Domonic Brown is 9-for-27 (.333 avg) in his last seven games. In 91 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Brown has a .225 batting average.

Marlins team OPS- .601 (30th/last in MLB)
Phillies team OPS- .679 (26th in MLB)

Stats to Ponder: Jimmy Rollins Edition

J-Roll has batted under .200 for a calendar month twice in his career. In April 2004, Rollins went 13-for-71, for a .183 average. The following month, Rollins went 30-for-107, which is a .280 average. And in August 2005, Rollins went 22-for-117, for a .188 average. The month that followed saw Rollins go 49-for-122 for a .402 average. Rollins is batting .171 so far in May 2009. Improvement is not far away for Jimmy. The Phillies are 10-2 in games this year which Rollins scores at least 1 run. The Phillies are 4-12 in games which Rollins does not score. Jimmy Rollins in 6 games against the Braves this year is batting .071 (2-for-28). In 2008 Rollins batted .284 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2007 Rollins batted .347 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2006 Rollins batted .367 against the Braves in 18 games. Jimmy Milestone Watch: 6 more RBI and Rollins will tie Scott Rolen for 25th all time in Phillies RBI leaders. 7 more triples and Rollins will tie Richie Ashburn for 4th all time i...

Former Player Proposes Marriage on the Field in Lakewood

Three's a crowd, Buster...Image- Jay Floyd For one New Jersey couple a unique meeting at the ballpark led to a new meaning for the term baseball diamond. Brian Parker spotted the woman of his dreams from the bullpen bench at Lakewood, NJ's FirstEnergy Park on July 9th, 2010. The right-handed reliever for the Orioles affiliate Delmarva Shorebirds wasn't summoned to pitch that night, but it didn't stop him from getting up and going through his usual warm up and stretching routines to inch closer to a young blonde Brick Township native that he felt drawn toward. "I was acting like I was staying hot, but really I was just trying to talk to her," Parker, a 19th round draft choice by Baltimore in 2007, stated. "I ended up putting my (phone) number on a baseball and we decided to hang out and throughout that whole next year it was back and forth trips between the both of us." The lady that caught Parker's eye was Kristin VanDeventer, who was ...

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. ...

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