My Fellow Phillies Phans,
Am I the only one getting sick of this crappy Colorado weather? I mean, it is supposed to be summer for crying out loud and they are getting snow and games are being delayed. Let’s hope the weather in Milwaukee is a bit better then what we saw during this week.
Speaking of the Brewers’ series, here is what it looks like pitching matchup wise:
Friday: Jamie Moyer (4-2 4.38 ERA) vs. Randy Wolf (3-2 3.95) – Former Phillie Wolf is the first of a series of lefties that the Brewers are throwing at the Phillies this weekend. This weekend is going to be a big test of this team’s merit as we have struggled against lefties this season. Wolf is 1-1 with a slightly above average ERA of 4.42 against the Phillies over the past few seasons. Moyer is coming off of that brilliant start against the Braves. As I highly doubt that he will repeat this feat; there is no reason to believe he cannot pitch well enough in this start to get the Phillies a series opener win. As I said before, the fact of Wolf being a left handed pitcher may make you worry, but this should be a good game tonight. One interesting note about tonight’s game: Phillies right handed hitting Jayson Werth and first baseman Ryan Howard are both only hitting .111 against Wolf in his career while Utley is struggling at .125. It may be the surrounding cast members that are vital in tonight’s game as Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino, and Placido Polanco are all hitting well above .300 in their careers versus Randy Wolf.
Saturday: Joe Blanton (0-2 4.97) vs. Chris Narveson (3-0 5.06) - I honestly cannot give you anything on Narveson except stats as he has not been around in the big leagues that long. Currently he is 3-0, but with a high ERA of 5.06. Righties are hitting a robust .344 against him while lefties have struggled hitting just .175. This may mean that the right handed bats in our lineup need to step it up again. Narveson has never faced the Phillies and only two Phillies hitters have faced him in the past; Polanco and Ben Francisco who are a combined 0-3 against him lifetime. Blanton, on the other hand, has faced the Brewers quite a number of times and has compiled a 5.30 ERA over the past few seasons. His stats may not look promising this year, but anyone who has watched him in person can honestly say that he is pitching better than his stats will indicate. This should be an interesting game as it will be shown on Fox this Saturday.
Sunday: Cole Hamels (3-2 4.35) vs. Doug Davis (1-4 7.56) – The Phillies once again wrap up the week on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. The matchup features a pair of lefties including the third and final lefty the Phillies will face this weekend in Doug Davis. Let’s face it, Davis’ stats would indicated that he has struggled this season and while this may be true, he is not a pitcher to be overlooked this season as the series wraps up. He has no surrendered a home run to a lefty this season and has held them to a meager .333 slugging percentage. As I said in the opener, this series could prove a lot about the Phillies so far this season either in a positive or negative light. As for Hamels, he has been quite a puzzle to figure out this season. Some starts he looks unbeatable as in the game against the Cardinals this year. Other times he looks unbeatable and then one inning changes everything, as his last start against the Braves would indicate. Other times, he is just downright bad as in his start at Arizona this year. What Cole we will get tomorrow on Sunday night is still a mystery until the game actually gets here. Until then, we can only speculate and hope that the dominating Hamels shows up for the Phillies.
I will do my best to check in with you throughout the weekend, but I cannot make any promises.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!
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