Series Preview: Phillies at Padres, June 24-26

The Phillies (36-40) hit the road to begin a ten-game road trip as they visit San Diego's Petco Park for three contests against the Padres (38-38).

Losers of 10 of their last 15 games, since they saw their record go above .500 early this month, the Phillies will send left-handed ace Cliff Lee to the mound in the series opener.  Lee hasn't suffered a loss since May 1st.  The Padres have lost four of their past six contests and will counter with starting pitcher Eric Stults, who has allowed two runs or less in each of his past five starts.

The Phils won four of seven meetings with the Padres last season, including a split of four games in San Diego.

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

Monday, 10:10 PM.  Cliff Lee (9-2, 2.53 ERA) vs. Eric Stults (6-5, 3.28 ERA).  In five career starts against San Diego, Cliff Lee is 1-2 with a 4.99 ERA.  In nine road starts this season, Lee has a 6-1 record and a 1.88 ERA.  Lee is 7-0 with a 1.97 ERA in his last nine starts.  The lefty Stults is 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA in six home starts this year.  Stults has allowed four earned runs in three career innings against the Phillies.  Ryan Howard is 2-for-2 with two home runs against Stults.

Tuesday, 10:10 PM.  Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 3.56 ERA) vs. Jason Marquis (9-2, 3.59 ERA).  Kendrick is 2-1 with a 5.51 ERA in four career games against the Padres.  In seven road starts this year, Kendrick is 2-2 with a 3.77 ERA.  In 26 career games against the Phils, Marquis is 6-8 with a 5.45 ERA.  Marquis is 8-0 with a 3.22 ERA in his last 11 starts.  Humberto Quintero is 5-for-12 (.417 avg) in his career against Marquis.

Wednesday, 10:10 PM.  Cole Hamels (2-11, 4.50 ERA) vs. To Be Determined.  Hamels is 0-3 with a 4.26 ERA in his last three starts.  In 13 career starts against San Diego, Hamels has an 8-2 record with a 2.15 ERA.  Hamels has a 1-5 record along with a 3.54 ERA in eight road starts this year.  Nick Hundley is 1-for-11 (.091 avg) in his career against Hamels.  The Padres will be without lefty starter Clayton Richard, who was placed on the disabled list over the weekend with a shoulder issue.

In 18 games this month, Michael Young is batting .355 with two homers and seven RBI.  Young is 2-for-10 (.200 avg) in three career games at Petco Park.

Will Venable is a .196 career hitter 19 games against the Phillies.  Venable's 10 HR are most on the Padres team.