Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Posted: 12:30 p.m.
Phillies (59-36) at Cubs (39-58), 8:05 on WPHL
Starting Pitchers
Phillies: Cliff Lee (9-6, 2.82) had his incredible run of shutouts snapped in early July with a bumpy outing against the Blue Jays but recovered with eight strong innings in his last start, a 4-1 loss to the Braves. He has gone at least seven innings in each of his last seven starts.
Cubs: Matt Garza (4-7, 3.97) is coming off one of his best starts of the season, but his season thus far has been a bit inconsistent. Case in point: Garzas last three outingsa one-run complete game against the White Sox, six earned on eight hits in two innings against the Nationals and most recently, seven shutout innings against the Marlins.
Previous games
The Cubs won Mondays contest 6-1 behind a three-hit, two-RBI effort from Carlos Pena. Roy Halladay exited the game due to heat exhaustion after five shaky innings, and outside of Jimmy Rollins homer in the fourth, the Phils offense didnt produce.
Prior to their series-opening victory, the Cubs had returned from the All-Star break with three losses in a four-game set against the Marlins. With the loss, the Phils moved to 2-2 since the midsummer respite.
Head-to-head
The Phils are 3-2 against the Cubs this season, outscoring Chicago 22-19.
Raul Ibanez is 4-for-12 (.333) against Garza with two homers and three RBIsRollins and Shane Victorino are a combined 3-for-20 (.150) off Garza lifetimeLee has allowed just six hits to Pena in 39 at-bats (.154), striking him out 13 times in the processIn five career starts against the Cubs, Lee is 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA.
MLB
Whos hot?
Rollins has hits in each of his last three games, going 6-for-13 over that span with a home run and three RBIs. Since July 4, Rollins average has climbed from .253 to .271Aramis Ramirez has at least one hit in 12 of his last 13 contests, totaling 17 hits, six homers and 16 RBIs since July 3.
Storylines
Halladay insists that he will make his next start despite leaving Mondays game early with heat exhaustionPlacido Polas back situation seems to be getting worse, and he will come off the DL later than initially expected. He asked yesterday for an epidural injection for his bulging discCharlie Manuel said Monday that he wants to add a good hitter andor reliever at the deadline.
Sound off
Lets say the Phils short list of right-handed bats looks like this at the deadline: Jeff Francoeur, Josh Willingham, Matt Diaz and Conor Jackson. Who would you most like to see in Phillies uniform?