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Losers of five straight contests, the Reds (5-7) will host the Phillies (6-6) for a three-game set at Great American Ballpark beginning on Monday night.  In the series opener, the Reds will go with right-hander Bronson Arroyo , who has posted an 8.50 ERA over his last seven regular season starts against the Phils, who will counter with lefty Cliff Lee , who has not walked a batter in his first two starts this season. The Phillies were victorious in four of seven meetings with Cincinnati last year, including two of three at Great American Ballpark.  Dating back to the 2010 National League playoffs, the Phils have won seven of the last eight games in Cincinnati. Read ahead for full details on the pitching match ups and loads more for this upcoming series. Monday, 7:10 PM.  Cliff Lee (2-0, 1.08 ERA) vs. Bronson Arroyo (1-1, 5.25 ERA).   In 11 career starts against the Reds, Lee has a 6-2 record along with a 3.91 ERA.  Joey Votto is 5-for-13 (.385 a...

The biggest news pertaining to the upcoming Reds vs. Phillies series is the return of Chase Utley. The 32-year-old all-star second baseman will make his 2011 season debut after being activated from the disabled list. Utley has missed time with tendinitis and chondromalacia of his right knee. He has been playing in games with the Phillies extended spring training club and their High A Level team in Clearwater in recent weeks, as part of a rehab assignment. A secondary storyline of importance is the rematch of last year's Divisional Playoffs, when Philadelphia swept Cincinnati out of the postseason in 3 games. Roy Halladay tossed the second ever postseason no-hitter in game 1 of that series at Citizens Bank Park. In the opener for this series, the Phillies will send lefty Cole Hamels, who shut out the Reds to force their exit from the 2010 playoffs, to the mound. Cincinnati will counter with right-hander Bronson Arroyo, who hasn't had much success against Philadelphia in his care...

No one is really giving the Reds a chance in the National League Division Series. Their own poor track record at Citizens Bank Park (losing the last 6 games there, dropping 10 of 12 there over the past 3 seasons) combined with the trio of starting pitchers and the potent lineup they'll have to face, plenty of baseball analysts and observers virtually have placed the Phillies into the League Championship Series already. Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker will send right-hander Edinson Volquez to the mound, hoping to prove the doubters wrong. Philadelphia will counter with NL Cy Young Award contender Roy Halladay, who will be achieving a life-long goal by making his first career postseason appearance. Halladay, widely considered an elite pitcher in Major League Baseball, has watched the playoffs on television for his entire career, until this year. Halladay wanted to pitch for a title contender so badly that he passed up the opportunity to test free agency, and instead signed a contract ...

Prior to the 2010 season, PhoulBallz.com checked in with various baseball heads...broadcasters, writers and bloggers alike...and got everyone's take on how the MLB season would play out. Each participant gave his thoughts and predicted the various awards given to outstanding performers, which teams would advance to the post-season and some Phillies related matters. Click here to read the original post. The panel of fortune tellers included me, Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley , former Phillies beat reporter Mike Olshin, Joe Giglio & Mike Krenek of Millennium Radio's The Shore Sports Report , Carson of We Should Be GM's , Kevin McGuire of Macho Row and Justin Evans of Red Pinstripes are Cooler . Without over analyzing, I'll offer a quick tip of my cap to Joey Votto (.314 avg, 22 HR, 60 RBI) and Robinson Cano (.336 avg, 16 HR, 58 RBI) who have outperformed players in their respective leagues and would be considered the Most Valuable Players of the first half, if there w...

Charlie Manuel is off the hook. The Phillies manager was subject to loads of ridicule after Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was initially left off of the National League all-star team. Manuel, as the manager of the NL team that made it to the World Series last year, will manage this year's NL all-star team and has some say in which players make the roster. Manuel had been critiqued heavily for selecting his own first baseman, Phillie Ryan Howard, and Atlanta utility man Omar Infante over Votto to the team. Thanks to online fan voting to fill the final spot on the all-star rosters, Votto made the team and prevented what could have been the most stunning all-star snub in recent memory. Votto leads the National League in homeruns and OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage). Additionally, he ranks among the top 5 in the league in RBI and batting avg. Upon learning of the news, Votto stated that he was relieved the final vote was over. Votto also told reporters, "I’...