In today's series finale matinee against the Pittsburgh Pirates (34-27), the Philadelphia Phillies (22-41) will seek to avoid being swept for the second consecutive series, and the fifth time overall this season.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (22-41) | Pittsburgh Pirates (34-27) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Cole Hamels | RHP | A.J. Burnett | ||
| (5-5, 3.19 ERA) | (6-2, 2.11 ERA) | ||||
Newly-promoted outfielder Domonic Brown and the rest of the Phillies' offense will face 38-year-old right hander A.J. Burnett, who started 34 games for them last season and went (8-18) with a 4.59 ERA.
Burnett last faced his former team on May 12. He threw seven solid innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk, which put him well en-route to his 157th career victory.
Taking the mound for the 14th time this season, Cole Hamels is (3-2) with a 2.73 ERA in his career against the Pirates over eight starts and 56.0 innings. In three day outings this season in 19.0 innings, the left hander is (1-2) with a 5.21 ERA and a .274 batting average against.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (22-41) | Pittsburgh Pirates (34-27) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Projected | Bats | Position | Projected | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Ben Revere | L | 1 | RF | Gregory Polanco | L |
| 2 | LF | Jeff Francoeur | R | 2 | LF | Starling Marte | R |
| 3 | 2B | Chase Utley | L | 3 | CF | Andrew McCutchen | R |
| 4 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L | 4 | 2B | Neil Walker | S |
| 5 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 5 | 3B | Josh Harrison | R |
| 6 | RF | Domonic Brown | L | 6 | 2B | Pedro Alvarez | L |
| 7 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 7 | 1B | Jung Ho Kang | R |
| 8 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R | 8 | SS | Chris Stewart | R |
| 9 | P | Cole Hamels | L | 9 | P | A.J. Burnett | R |
Game Notes:
- All-time at PNC Park, the Phillies are 16-30. They have lost five straight at that venue, dating back to July 4, 2014. Philadelphia has been defeated in six of their last seven series at Pittsburgh.
- In second baseman Chase Utley's last ten games, he is batting just .069 (2-29), with just one scored run, a double, and three runs-batted-in.
- The Phillies are current amongst a nine-game road losing streak, which is their longest skid since dropping 11 straight in 2013 from July 20 to August 11.
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 1:35 pm EST
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
What's Next:
- Monday, June 15, 2015: at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 pm
- RHP Aaron Harang (4-7, 3.04 ERA) vs. RHP Wei-Yin Chen (2-4, 3.21 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Tuesday, June 16, 2015: at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 pm
- RHP Jerome Williams (3-6, 5.71 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Tillman (4-7, 5.68 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
