Colbert Hamels will look to build off of his last start, a successful eight inning shutout in which he gave up seven hits along with seven strikeouts against the Pirates en route to a 4-1 win. His foe will be a Giants team that is currently atop the wild card standings and a potential post season match up for the Phils.
The Giants got to Cole in his only start against them this season back on August 2nd, so how Hamels fares tonight will certainly be of interest in terms of him finding his groove (or not) heading into the home stretch. San Fran will throw Jonathan Sanchez this evening who earned a win in 5.2 innings of solid work against the Phillies on July 30th.
As Matt mentioned earlier in the day, the Giants could be the final playoff-caliber team the Phils face before October.
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The timing of this series is perfect. The Phillies are riding high in
the standings despite not playing their best baseball, because really,
they haven't been seeing the best of opponents. With the Giants vying
for their playoff lives, there will be much less room for error or,
more appropriately, stranding runners on base.
The Phillies also made their first September call up this afternoon, bringing Jack "The Pen Star" Taschner back up to the big club. Riveting move, I know. Scott Lauber has said Charlie Manuel mentioned the Phillies looking to bring in a speed guy the likes of Michael Bourn or Greg Golson, naming Anthony Gose or Quintin Berry as potential candidates. A little speed is always fun to watch.
The weather this evening in South Philly appears to be perfect for a night at the ball park. Or if you can't make it to the sports complex, another great option is to take in the game at the Piazza in NoLibs, with new restaurant PYT and a great pub in Swift Half offering some libations and food.
And if you need any pregame reading, this compendium of MetsFail from 2009 is quite nice.
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First pitch scheduled for 7:05. Enjoy.