PhoulBallz.com

The Phillies (16-19) will try to get on a roll and win consecutive games for the first time this month as they host the Astros (15-19) for a quick two-game series at Citizens Bank Park. In the series opener, the Phillies will sent righty hurler Joe Blanton , who has not lost at Citizens Bank Park since May 14th, 2011, to the mound.  The Astros will counter with right-hander Lucas Harrell , who has never faced the Phillies before. The Astros were swept by the Phillies in their 3-game series in Philadelphia last year. Read ahead for more details on the pitching match ups for this series as well as plenty more statistical info. Monday, 7:05 PM.  Lucas Harrell (2-2, 4.58 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (3-3, 3.24 ERA). Harrell has posted a 0-2 record with a 6.23 ERA in 4 road starts this season.  Harrell is 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA in his last 4 starts.  In 24 career big league games, opponents have posted a .300 batting average against Harrell.  Blanton is 1-0 with...

A few quick injury notes here from around the Phillies' system.... - Kelly Dugan (pictured), who nastily twisted his ankle last month, has returned to action after missing nearly three weeks of playing time.  On April 20th, the Phillies' top draft pick from 2009 sprained his ankle when he stepped on first base awkwardly, taking a throw on a ground out. According to Lakewood manager Mickey Morandini, Dugan played in extended spring training games on Thursday and Friday and is feeling much improved, running and hitting with no difficulties. For an image of Dugan's awfully bruised and swollen ankle, from the time of the injury, click here . In 15 games with Lakewood this season, the 21-year-old Dugan posted a .245 batting average with 2 doubles, 2 homeruns and 9 RBI. -Lefty pitcher Nick Hernandez is still roughly a month away from facing hitters.  The Phils' 12th round draft pick from 2009 has been out of action for nearly two years.  The 6-foot-5-inch 2...

It's been a number of years since the Phillies (14-18) were 4 games under .500 at this stage of the season.  That happened in 2007, to be precise, and that year marked the beginning of the club's streak of 5 consecutive National League East division titles.  The Phillies hope to bounce back in the same way they did back then, as they take on the San Diego Padres, who, at 11-21, sport the worst record in the NL. The two teams begin a three-game series on Friday evening. To open the series, the Padres will send lefty hurler Clayton Richard to the mound.  Richard has lost his last 4 starts.  The Phillies will counter with righty Vance Worley , who is fresh off his worst outing of the season when he surrendered 5 earned runs in 6 innings pitched against Washington last Saturday. The Phillies won 3 of 4 meetings with San Diego at Citizens Bank Park last season. Read ahead for more information on the pitching match ups for this series as well as plenty more stat...

Phillies' up-again-down-again reliever Michael Schwimer posted a congratulatory message on Twitter to three Lehigh Valley IronPigs teammates on Thursday afternoon in relation to their promotions to the big league club.  The three players mentioned were lefty hurlers Jake Diekman (pictured) and Raul Valdes as well as mulit-positional veteran Hector Luna .   Diekman, 25, has posted sparkling numbers dating back to last year.  Over 16 combined relief outings in the Arizona Fall League and in Major League spring training this year, Diekman posted a 0.55 ERA with 23 strike outs and 7 walks.  The Nebraska native followed that up by allowing just 1 earned run through 12 relief innings, while striking out 22 and walking just 3 batters with the IronPigs. Diekman, a 30th round pick of the Phillies in the 2007 amateur draft, sports a fastball that reaches 95 MPH, a solid slider and a deceiving change up. He was ranked 18th on the 2012 PhilliesNation top prospects...

Reading Phillies first baseman Darin Ruf is ripping through Double-A Eastern League pitching this season.  In 31 games for the R-Phils, Ruf has posted a league leading .389 batting average with 5 HR and 20 RBI. The righty-hitting Ruf, who had a breakout year with Class A Advanced Clearwater last year with 43 doubles, 17 HR, 82 RBI and a .308 batting average in 133 games, will turn 26 years old in late July. The 20th round draft selection from 2009 took some time recently to answer questions for yours truly.  Click here to check out my recent feature on Darin and check out the media player below to hear interview excerpts in which he talks about his manager, Dusty Wathan , his own approach to the game, players that he looked up to in his younger days and more. ______________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE . Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE .

I am sure many of the readers of PhoulBallz.com have also seen my work, and other solid content, on PhilliesNation.com.  But have you seen the Phillies Nation TV program?  Well, if you haven't, now would be a good time, because, although I've appeared on the program briefly before, this week I made my first appearance on set, at Yards Brewing Company with hosts Pat Gallen and Corey Seidman. During my segment, I fielded questions from Pat and Corey about Phillies prospects Domonic Brown , Jake Diekman , Trevor May , Julio Rodriguez and more.  You can view the full episode below and be sure to check out PhilliesNation.com for loads a great Phillies content. ________________________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE . Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE .

At Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Mike Fontenot , who was signed by the Phillies last month as a free agent after being released by San Francisco late in spring training, has been performing quite well to the tune of a .308 batting average with 5 doubles and 6 RBI in a dozen games.  Meanwhile, the Philadelphia offense has struggled considerably, as they tallied the 3rd lowest OPS in the National League entering action on Monday. Change is needed and the team clearly realizes it. Manager Charlie Manuel has used 25 different lineups in 30 games this season.  None have clicked particularly well. Fontenot, 31, is a career .263 hitter in six big league seasons.  The lefty hitting former 1st round draft pick of the Orioles (2001) had the most successful season of his career in 2009 with the Cubs, when he mashed 9 homeruns and drove in 43 runs in 135 games. On the defensive side, Fontenot has played 286 games at 2nd base, 50 games at shortstop and 77 games at 3rd base in the ...

Having avoided a sweep at the hands of the Nationals with an offensive outburst and a 9-3 victory on Sunday night, the Phillies return home to begin a stretch in which they will play 14 of their next 16 games at home. The Phillies (14-15) will kick off the homestand by hosting the Mets (15-13). Phils ace Roy Halladay , who allowed 8 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Braves in his previous start, will take the mound for the series opener.  The Metropolitans will counter with left-hander Jonathan Niese, who struggled against the Astros, allowing 5 earned runs in 3 innings, in his last outing.  Philadelphia won 6 of 9 meetings with New York at Citizens Bank Park last season.  Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and more statistical information on this series. Monday, 7:05 PM.  Jonathan Niese (2-1, 4.08 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (3-2, 3.40 ERA).   In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Niese is 4-4 with a 3.58 ERA.  Niese has ma...

Back with the Lakewood BlueClaws this season, Aaron Altherr is proving that he belongs in the Class A South Atlantic League.  Through 41 games with Lakewood last season, the Phillies' 9th round draft selection from 2009 posted a .211 batting average with 6 doubles, 1 HR, 15 RBI and 12 steals.  He was then demoted to short-season Williamsport.  Thus far in 2012, through 27 games, the 21-year-old is sporting a .292 batting average with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR, 14 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Ranked over the off-season as PhilliesNation's #25 prospect , and even higher by some other outlets, Altherr has certainly shown flashes of serious skill and earned recognition for his tools on the field. Recently, I spoke with Aaron about his improvements this year, his manager Mickey Morandini and more.  Check out the media player below to hear that full interview. ________________________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by click...

Welcome to the (semi-)weekly minor league wrap up.  This edition takes a glance at each level of the Phillies' developmental system and details hot and cold players from each club. Lakewood Who's Hot- Local product Bob Stumpo (pictured, right) has been hot for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws through his first 5 games with the club. The West Chester University grad, who was a 33rd round draft selection in 2010, has gone 10-for-21 in the South Atlantic League thus far, after being re-assigned from Clearwater. Combined at two levels this year, the switch-hitting catcher posted a .405 batting average through action on Saturday. Who's Not- Brian Pointer , who had been a standout star for the BlueClaws in the opening three weeks of the season, hit a slow spell this week, going 1-for-20 over a stretch of five games to drop his batting average over 50 points. Pointer still sported a .253 average with 5 HR and 19 RBI through 26 games through action on Saturday. T...

On Friday, right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Cloyd was promoted from Double-A Reading Phillies to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  Cloyd opened the season with Lehigh Valley, as he made a spot start for suspended hurler Dave Bush, but has been dominating the Eastern League since then. Overall in 5 starts this season, Cloyd, the Phillies' 18th round draft pick from 2008, posted a 4-0 record with a 1.45 ERA and a .200 batting average against. Last week, this site featured a profile piece on Cloyd that can be found by clicking here . Below are some interview excerpts from recent my one-on-one interview with the Nebraska native.  Use the media player to hear what Cloyd had to say about his solid success this season, his time at four levels with manager Dusty Wathan and more. _____________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE . Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE .

The Nationals' efforts to take back their park have earned big time attention from the media and fans alike, but for the teams on the field it will simply be the first of several series this season against a formidable division rival. In that division, the National League East, Washington and Philadelphia have reversed roles, somewhat, as the Nationals (16-9) have steadily been considerably far back in the standings in recent years, behind the Phillies (13-13).  However, now, it is the five-time defending division champions that find themselves in 4th place 3 1/2 games behind the division leading Nats. As the clubs begin a 3-game series, the Phillies will send right-hander Kyle Kendrick , who will be making his third start in place of injured ace Cliff Lee , to the mound for the series opener.  He'll be faced by the Nationals' top hurler Stephen Strasburg , who was drafted first overall by Washington back in 2009. Last season, the Nationals won the season series a...