Series Preview: Phillies at Rockies, June 14-16

The Rockies (35-32) were dealt a poor hand on Thursday, when three of their regulars suffered injuries. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the National League's second leading hitter, has been placed on the disabled list with a broken rib suffered on a diving defensive play in Thursday's contest against Washington. Outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was drilled with a line dive foul, while standing on deck in that game, while outfielder Dexter Fowler was hit by a pitch on his hand.

The Phillies (32-35) are no strangers to ailing stars, as the team currently has two All-Stars, second baseman Chase Utley and catcher Carlos Ruiz, on the disabled list with injuries of their own. Additionally, multi-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay is out of action following shoulder surgery and starting hurler John Lannan has missed nearly two months due to a left quad issue.

Both clubs will try to persevere as they begin a three-game series at Coors Field on Friday night.

The Phillies won two of three meetings in Colorado last year.

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

Friday, 8:40 PM. Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 3.22 ERA) vs. Juan Nicasio (4-2, 4.61 ERA). In nine career games against the Rockies (eight starts), Kendrick has a 3-2 record along with a 4.63 ERA and a .308 batting average against. In six road starts this year, Kendrick is 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA. The right-hander Nicasio has a 2-1 record with a 4.31 ERA in six home starts this season. Nicasio has recorded a win just once in his last eight outings.

Saturday, 4:10 PM. Jonathan Pettibone (3-2, 3.70 ERA) vs. Tyler Chatwood (3-1, 2.14 ERA). In four road starts, Pettibone has a 1-1 record with a 5.32 ERA. Pettibone is 0-2 with a 4.84 ERA in his last four starts. Chatwood is 1-0 with a 3.57 ERA in three home stats this year. The righty Chatwood allowed two earned run over five innings in his lone career start against the Phils last September. Michael Young is 5-for-6 (.833 avg) in his career against Chatwood.

Sunday, 4:10 PM. Cole Hamels (2-9, 4.45 ERA) vs. Jhoulys Chacin (4-3, 4.52 ERA). In six career regular season starts against the Rockies, Hamels is 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA. Hamels is 1-4 with a 3.48 ERA in seven road starts this year. Hamels has a 5.09 ERA in three career regular season starts at Coors Field. In his last outing against Washington (five innings, two earned runs), Chacin notched a victory after going seven straight starts without one. In five career games against the Phillies, Chacin has a 1-0 record with a 1.21 ERA. Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard are a combined 0-for-16 in their careers against Chacin.

In 11 career games at Coors Field, Phils catcher Humberto Quintero is a .364 hitter with three doubles, a homer and four RBI. Quintero is batting .150 in eight road games in the big leagues this season.

Injured catcher Carlos Ruiz is slated to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday. Ruiz has been sidelined with a hamstring strain since May 20th.

Domonic Brown holds the National League lead in home runs with 19, while Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki are second and third with 18 and 16 respectively. Brown is batting .326 with four homers and 12 RBI in 12 games this month.

Ryan Howard is batting .289 in 12 games this month, but has not slugged a home run since May 29th. In 23 regular season games at Coors Field, Howard has a .286 average with six home runs and 19 RBI.

Rookie third baseman Nolan Arenado is batting .327 in 12 games this month. The 22-year-old is batting .250 with four homers and 13 RBI in 25 home games.

Former Phillies prospect Josh Outman is 2-0 with a 4.81 ERA out of the Rockies' bullpen. The lefty hurler was dealt to Oakland as part of the Joe Blanton trade in 2008. He was then swapped to Colorado prior to the 2012 season in a deal for Seth Smith.

In 87 career games against the Phillies, Todd Helton has a .360 average with 17 homers and 62 RBI. Helton is batting .221 in 27 home games this season.

Phillies bullpen ERA- 4.51 (28th in MLB)
Rockies bullpen ERA- 3.30 (12th in MLB)

This Guy Speaks For All of You

This individual, interviewed by FOX 29 on Friday as the Phillies arrived back at Citizens Bank Park, said it best. When asked how he felt regarding the Phillies, he told Steve Keeley that he was, "Stoked, baby!" The unidentified phanatic then proclaimed, "We are talking about the Fightins here, the Fightins! Said!" Check out the media player below, as the transcribed version certainly does not do this phireball of phandom justice. The Phillies forced game 6 of the National League Championship Series with a 4-2 victory over the Giants in San Francisco on Thursday night. Game 6 will feature Roy Oswalt vs. Jonathan Sanchez in a return pitching match up from game 2. First pitch is scheduled for 7:57 pm EST at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Be sure to tune in on 97.3 ESPN's Weekend Sports Guide with Tyrone Johnson this afternoon around 1:15pm to hear me chatting about the Phillies! 97.3 is based in Atlantic City. You can listen live online HERE . _________

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