After seeing a close game get away from them late last night, the Phillies (66-77) aim to rebound tonight against the Pirates (75-68), who padded their Wild Card lead after the win. The game was just 2-1 in favor of Pittsburgh heading into the eighth, but Ryne Sandberg's questionable decision to leave Kyle Kendrick in with 111 pitches already, backfired badly. Kendrick surrendered three straight singles and Jake Diekman didn't provide any relief, allowing two of Kendrick's runners to score in addition to tacking on an earned run of his own. Before you knew it, the score was 6-1. The Phils did climb to within two in the eighth but with the tying run on base, Marlon Byrd grounded into an inning ending forceout. Tonight the Phillies look to take game two of this four game set, but face a tough test as the Pirates send Edinson Volquez to the mound against rookie right-hander, David Buchanan.
Though the Phillies have lost the last five starts David Buchanan (6-7, 3.95) has started, the 25-year old out of Georgia State has given up three runs or less in each of those outings. Most recently, Buchanan took a no-decision against the Braves in a 7-4 loss. He lasted only four innings during the weekday matinee in Atlanta and gave up four runs, one earned. In the start prior to that against the Mets, Buchanan got no run support after tossing seven innings of one-run ball in a 4-1 Phillies loss to New York. Buchanan has seen the Pirates before and was effective against them in his start at PNC Park back on July 5th. He gave up three runs in six innings in a close 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh. Starling Marte, who had himself a night yesterday with a single, double and two-run homer, is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against the Phils rookie.
The odds are against Philadelphia in this one if you look at the numbers as Pirates starter, Edinson Volquez (11-7, 3.31) owns a 2-0 record to go along with a miniscule 0.69 ERA at Citizens Bank Park, covering two starts. If that number wasn't convincing enough, in his career, Volquez has a 4-1 record against the Phils in five starts and has given up just six earned runs in 31.1 innings, good for an ERA of 1.72. Grady Sizemore and Cody Asche are the only ones who have taken Volquez out of the park, while Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are just a combined 3-for-14 with three walks and six strikeouts. In his most recent outing, the Pirates most consistent starter pitched 6.1 shutout innings in a 1-0 loss to St. Louis. He faced the Phillies earlier this year and held them to just one run on four hits over seven innings in a 4-1 win. He has won seven of his last eight decisions.
Game Notes:
- Jimmy Rollins left yesterday's game with a hamstring strain. He tells CSNPhilly.com that 10 days should be plenty of time for him to recover. Rollins will have an ultrasound today to determine the severity of the strain, but he hopes to return before the season ends on September 28th. J-Roll is hitting .243 with 17 homers, 55 RBIs, 28 stolen bases and a career-high 64 walks.
- Since being called up, Maikel Franco has started four out of seven games. He is hitting .133 (2-for-15) with two RBI's. He hits second tonight with Cody Asche on the bench again.
- Ben Revere sits third in the race for the NL Batting Title with an average of .313. He trails Josh Harrison of the Pirates (.315) and Justin Morneau of the Rockies (.316). Revere ranks ninth overall in Major League Baseball with his .313 average.
Phillies Lineup
- Ben Revere CF
- Maikel Franco 3B
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Domonic Brown LF
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Freddy Galvis SS
- David Buchanan P
Pirates Lineup
- Josh Harrison 3B
- Starling Marte LF
- Andrew McCutchen CF
- Neil Walked 2B
- Russell Martin C
- Ike Davis 1B
- Gregory Polanco RF
- Jordy Mercer SS
- Edinson Volquez
First Pitch: 7:05pm
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylania
Weather: 72o F, Mostly Cloudy, 1% PoP
TV/Radio: Comcast Sportsnet, 1210 WPHT
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
