Series Preview: Phillies at Braves, September 26-29

The Phillies (72-86) will close out their 2013 season with a four-game series against the postseason bound Atlanta Braves (93-65).

When the teams last met in Philadelphia earlier this month, the Braves were swept in a three-game set. The Phils have dropped four of six meetings at Turner Field, where this series will take place, thus far this season.

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

Thursday, 7:10 PM. Tyler Cloyd (2-6, 5.40 ERA) vs. David Hale (0-0, 0.00 ERA). In three starts this month, Cloyd has an 11.77 ERA. In six road starts, Cloyd is 2-2 with a 4.60 ERA. Hale, a 25-year-old Princeton product, threw five scoreless frames in his big league debut against the Padres earlier this month. Hale had a 6-9 record with a 3.22 ERA in 22 Triple-A games this season.

Friday, 7:30 PM. Cliff Lee (14-7, 2.93 ERA) vs. Kris Medlen (14-12, 3.24 ERA). In 14 career games against Atlanta, Lee has a 7-5 record with a 2.95 ERA. Lee sports a 7-2 record with a 2.52 ERA in 15 road starts this season. Freddie Freeman is 1-for-11 against Lee this year. Medlen has a 3-2 record with a 5.17 ERA and a .306 batting average against in 17 career games against the Phillies. In his last five starts, Medlen is 4-0 with a 1.03 ERA. Medlen, a righty, has a 2.45 ERA in 16 home games this year.

Saturday, 7:10 PM. To be determined vs. Mike Minor (13-8, 3.22 ERA). With arm fatigue experienced by righty hurler Roy Halladay earlier this week, the Phillies are slated to utilize their bullpen throughout Saturday's contest. Minor is 0-4 with a 4.15 ERA in four starts this month. In 16 home starts this year, Minor has a 6-4 record with a 3.65 ERA and a .223 batting average against. Chase Utley is 4-for-17 (.235 avg) with a homer in his career against Minor.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. Zach Miner (0-1, 3.08 ERA) vs. Julio Teheran (13-8, 3.09 ERA). The 31-year-old Miner has a 3.65 ERA and a .306 batting average against in seven road contests this year. B.J. Upton is 3-for-11 (.273 avg) with a double in his career against Miner. Teheran, 22, has a 2.66 ERA in 11 starts since the All-Star break. In 15 home games this year, Teheran has a 7-4 record with a 2.82 ERA. Jimmy Rollins is 4-for-6 (.667 avg) with a double and a home run in his career against Teheran.

In 27 road games this season, Darin Ruf is batting .217 with three homers and seven RBI. Ruf has a .333 average with three home runs and five RBI in 12 career games against the Braves.

Chase Utley is batting .347 with two home runs and 16 RBI in 21 games this month. In 15 games against Atlanta this year, Utley has a .310 average with two homers and nine RBI.

Domonic Brown, who hit 12 home runs in 28 May games, has hit 12 home runs in 81 games since then.

Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel has 15 saves and a 1.11 ERA in 26 career games against the Phillies. Kimbrel has a 0.80 ERA in 34 home games this season.

Justin Upton, who leads the Braves in homers with 26 this season, has a .295 career average with seven homers and 16 RBI in 39 games against the Phils.

Outfielder Jordan Schafer has a .143 average with two homers and three RBI in 16 career games against the Phillies. The lefty batting Schafer sports a .167 average since the All-Star break.

Phillies team OPS in September- .698 (16th in MLB)
Braves team OPS in September- .640 (28th in MLB)

Justin De Fratus Interview Excerpts- May, 2011

Armed with a 2-0 record, 3 saves and a 2.95 ERA in 15 games this season for the Double A Reading Phillies, Justin De Fratus continues to make strides toward his goal of reaching the Major Leagues. Ranked as a top 10 prospect within the Phillies system last off-season, the 23-year-old De Fratus was in camp with the Phillies during big league spring training. In 3 games with the Phils during the Grapefruit League season, De Fratus allowed 4 earned runs in 4 innings and took a loss. He did strike out an impressive 5 batters in those 4 frames, however. Drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 amateur draft, De Fratus stood out as a force in relief last year for both the High A Clearwater Threshers and the R-Phils. In 49 combined games at the two levels, De Fratus posted a 3-0 record with 21 saves and a 1.94 ERA. De Fratus continued his excellent 2011 by pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American qualifiers held in Puerto Rico, helping the Americans finish with a 9-1 record. He also posted out...

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against. The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball w...

Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, August 6-8

The Braves (62-46) travel to Philadelphia to begin a three-game series with the Phillies (49-59) on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. In the past month, the two clubs have faced each other in two separate series, with the Braves winning all six of the contests. Atlanta’s recent dominance over the Phils is the opposite of how things went last season, when the Phillies handed the Braves six losses toward the end of the 2011 season. Those defeats shut the door on Atlanta’s postseason hopes. Read ahead for notes on the pitching the match ups and additional statistical information on this series. Monday, 7:05 PM. Ben Sheets (3-1, 1.46 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (6-6, 3.63 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Sheets has a 3-4 record with a 4.50 ERA. Ty Wigginton is 12-for-36 (.333 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Sheets. The righty Sheets was the Brewers' 1st round draft pick in 1999. In his last 5 starts, Worley has a 2-1 record with a 4.06 ERA. In 9 home s...

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