Series Preview: Phillies at Rays, 9/25- 9/27

The Phillies enter the final weekend of the regular season clinging to postseason hopes as they travel to St. Petersburg to take on the American League East Division champion Rays in a three-game set.

Losers of six of their last 10 games, the Phillies urgently need wins in order to qualify for the expanded 16-team playoff format. The enter the weekend 1/2 game behind Miami for second place in the National League East and they trail San Francisco by 1/2 game for the last NL Wild Card spot.

Read ahead for a rundown of the pitching match ups and other key statistics for this series.

Friday, 6:40pm. Vince Velasquez (1-1, 5.46 ERA) vs. Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.64 ERA). Velasquez notched a win in his last outing against the Blue Jays, going six innings while allowing one earned run on two hits. Velasquez is averaging 12.1 K/9 in eight appearances this season. Velasquez has allowed eight earned runs in 8 2/3 innings on the road this season. Since his first start of the season in which Morton allowed six earned runs over four innings of work, the former Phillie has tallied a 3.41 ERA. In 24 career starts at Tropicana Field, Morton has posted a 3.24 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP. Bryce Harper is 4-for-8 with a home run and four RBI in his career when facing the right-handed Morton.

Saturday, 7:07pm. Zack Wheeler (4-1, 2.67 ERA) vs. Ryan Yarbrough (1-4, 3.78 ERA). In four road starts this year, Wheeler has a 1-1 record with a 3.28 ERA. Yarbrough, a lefty, has a 1-1 record and a 4.03 ERA in four home appearances this season. Didi Gregorius is 1-for-7 in his career against Yarbrough.

Sunday, 3:10pm. Aaron Nola (5-4, 3.06 ERA) vs. To be determined. In five road appearances this season, Nola has posted a 2-3 record with a 3.86 ERA. Hunter Renfroe is 3-for-7 with two doubles and two walks in his career against Nola. Through his 11 starts, Nola is averaging 12.0 K/9 this season.

First baseman Rhys Hoskins remains on the injured list with a left UCL strain. It's possible he could return if the Phillies reach the postseason. In 41 games this year, Hoskins tallied a .245 average with 10 homers and 26 RBI.

In 24 road games this year, Andrew McCutchen sports a .300 average with four homers and 15 RBI. McCutchen has a .455 average in nine career games against the Rays.

In 75 career games against the Rays, Gregorius has a .192 average. In 25 road games, Gregorius has a .256/.316/.442 slash line.

Rookie third baseman/first baseman Alec Bohm ranks first among National League rookies this year in batting average (.333) and RBI (22). He also leads the NL in hits this month with 35.

Second baseman Brandon Lowe leads the Rays in batting average (.274), home runs (14) and RBI (36). The lefty hitter was the 3rd round draft selection of the Rays in 2015.

With a .754 mark the Rays rank 13th in MLB in OPS. At .791, the Phils are 6th in MLB with team OPS.

The Phillies' 7.17 bullpen ERA ranks worst in the majors this year while the Rays' 3.50 mark is 4th best in MLB.

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

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...

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