Phillies (5-6) at San Francisco Giants (5-6)10:15 p.m. on TCN
The Phillies lost to Giants lefthander Madison Bumgarner on Tuesday to even their 10-game road trip record at 1-1. On Wednesday, theyll play their third and final game at AT&T Park in hopes of winning a second straight road series in San Francisco.
Starting PitchersFor the Phils its Cliff Lee, who is 0-1 in two starts with a 3.46 ERA. Lees first two starts have been strong but not dominant. Hes allowed just nine baserunners in 13 innings, but he uncharacteristically walked two in his first and gave up two homers in his second start.
He is opposed by Giants righty Matt Cain, who signed a six-year, 127.5 million contract in early April that is thought to be a measuring stick for Cole Hamels next contract. Cain is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA. He is coming off of a one-hit, 106-pitch shutout of the Pirates in which he walked none and struck out 11. Pittsburghs only hit off Cain was a sixth-inning single by pitcher James McDonald.
Previous gamesThe Phillies scored four first-inning runs off Tim Lincecum in the series opener to win, 5-2, and the Giants scored two first-inning runs of their own to win, 4-2, on Tuesday.
Joe Blanton took the loss in the second game of the series, but the real story was a lack of situational hitting. The Phillies stranded eight runners and went 1 for 11 with men in scoring position. The Phils have baseballs fifth-worst on-base percentage with RISP and the sixth-worst slugging percentage.
Head-to-headThe Phillies and Giants have split their last 22 regular season meetings dating back to 2009. The Phils have won four of six against San Fran after losing seven of the previous 10 games.
Lee has faced the Giants twice in the regular season in his career with the Philliesonce in his very first start with them in 2009 again last August. Both were complete game wins at AT&T Park. His line against the Giants as a Phillie is: 18 IP, 11 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 14 K.
The only Giant who has hit Lee well in his career is Ryan Theriot, who could start at second base for Manny Burris. Theriot is 5 for 16 off Lee with three walks.
Its been a mixed bag for Cain against the Phillies. He is 1-4 in regular season matchups and the Giants are just 2-5 in his seven starts. Cains allowed two or fewer runs in four of those starts, but has been tagged for five, six and seven runs in the other three. Current Phillies are hitting .286.335.559 off him.
Jimmy Rollins is 7 for 17 (.412) off Cain with six extra-base hits. Laynce Nix is 8 for 20 (.400), so expect him to start.
Whos hotShane Victorino has hit in all 10 games since the season opener, though he had only one hit in seven of those games.
Hunter Pence hit his second homer of the season on Tuesday and is batting .333.391.524. He just cant lay off high, two-strike fastballs.
Whos notUntil he stops making pitcher-like contact, the answer is Placido Polanco. Another 0 for 4 night dropped his batting average to .179, and since May 1, 2011, Polanco has hit .237 over 107 games. Of Polancos 33 balls in play this season, just five have been line drives.
StorylinesWinning the rubber-match in San Francisco would make the Phillies 6-6 and put them in good position to have a successful West Coast swing. Beating Lincecum and Cain in the same series would be a major confidence boost to a team that couldnt hit at all early, but now just cant hit when men are on base.
Watch to see what happens with Polanco on Wednesday night. Does he get the night off? Will he again bat second? Will he be dropped in the order? If he does play, keep an eye on his swings. Polanco has been fouling off or weakly popping out on hittable pitches lately. A hitter as accomplished as Polanco likely knows the mechanical adjustments he must make, one just wonders if he can physically make them at this point.
Sound offWill the Phillies creep above .500 during the road trip?
E-mail Corey Seidman at cseidman@comcastsportsnet.com