The Phillies fell to the Twins, 3-2 in last night's series opener. Cole Hamels allowed two earned runs on seven hits through six innings. He walked none and struck out five, but took the no-decision after the Phillies tied it in the eighth innings and went on to lose it in the bottom half. After losing their fourth straight game last night at the hand of the Twins, the Phillies are looking for anything that can break their skid. Tonight they will send Tyler Cloyd (2-2, 3.68 ERA) to the hill to face a familiar face in Mike Pelfrey (3-6, 6.40 ERA) in an effort to even this series up at one-a-piece.
Tyler Cloyd is coming off of his second win of the year. After a tough-luck loss against Milwaukee on June 1st, Cloyd got a second chance on Thursday against the Brewers. The 26-year-old right hander tossed six innings of shut out baseball, allowing four hits while striking out two. Despite walking a season-high 5 batters, Cloyd was able to keep the runners from scoring and held on long enough to take his second win of the year. In his last three starts Cloyd is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA (8 ER in 16 IP). If you disclude his start against Boston, Cloyd has a 2.00 ERA in four starts. Tonight will be Cloyd's first career start against Minnesota.
In his first season in a Twins uniform, Mike Pelfrey has not made a strong statement after spending the first seven seasons of his career with the New York Mets. With a 3-6 record and a near-7.00 ERA, Pelfrey has not been having the best of luck. His last time out proved positive with a quality start against Kansas City. Pelfrey held the Royals to three runs on seven hits through 6 1/3 innings while striking out two and walking one. In his last three starts, Pelfrey has a 5.71 ERA (11 ER in 17 1/3 IP). Pelfrey will be making his first start against the Phillies in a Twins uniform after tallying a 7-7 record with a 5.16 ERA in over 111 innings pitched as a member of the Mets.
Game Notes:
- Ryan Howard is hitting .390 (16-for-41) with 3 home runs and 7 RBI against Mike Pelfrey.
- The Phillies' 14-game team homer streak was snapped on Tuesday.
- The Phillies are back to three games under .500 after losing four straight games.
Phillies lineup:
- Michael Young 3B
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Domonic Brown LF
- Delmon Young DH
- John Mayberry Jr. RF
- Freddy Galvis 2B
- Steve Lerud C
Twins lineup:
- Jamey Carroll 3B
- Joe Mauer C
- Ryan Doumit RF
- Josh Willingham DH
- Justin Morneau 1B
- Oswaldo Arcia LF
- Clete Thomas CF
- Eduardo Escobar 2B
- Pedro Florimon SS
First Pitch Forecast: Cloudy – 70° – 0% PoP
TV: CSN
Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT
Let's Go Phillies!
Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
