Last night, the Phillies (57-71) were up against the odds with Adam Wainwright on the mound for the NL Wild Card leading Cardinals (69-58). After a rough first inning from Kyle Kendrick, pitting the Phillies in a 3-0 hole, he settled in and only allowed one run over the next 5.1 innings. Meanwhile, the Phillies got to Wainwright in the third, thanks to RBI's from Ryan Howard and Marlon Byrd combined with a Matt Adams throwing error. The Phillies bullpen kept the Cards hitless after Kendrick departed in the sixth, conserving a 5-4 win. Tonight at 7:05, the Phillies will go with rookie David Buchanan. Shelby Miller gets the ball for St. Louis.
When the Phillies split their four-game set with the Cards earlier this year, David Buchanan (6-7, 4.25), pitched one of his best games of the year. Over 7.1 innings of work, the Phillies rookie held the Cardinals to just one run on four hits. During his last outing, Buchanan was the hard luck loser after giving up two earned runs on nine hits in the Phils 5-2 loss in San Francisco. Keeping the Phillies in the game has been Buchanan's M.O., holding teams to three runs or less in each of his last nine starts. Matt Carpenter got the lone RBI for the Cards off of Buchanan during his start in June.
Meanwhile the Cardinals will go with Shelby Miller (8-9, 4.25). St. Louis has lost six of the last eight games in which Miller has started, most recently in a 9-5 loss to San Diego last Saturday. Miller opposed Buchanan earlier this season in the Phillies 4-1 win. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up four runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out three. His most effective start as of late was on August 6th against the Red Sox. Miller went seven innings and gave up only one run, but he took a no-decision as the Cards lost 2-1.
Game Notes:
- A win tonight would give the Phillies back-to-back series victories for the first time since going 5-2 against the Dodgers and the D-backs from April 21-27.
- Earlier today, the Phillies recalled Freddy Galvis. To make room for him, Reid Brignac was designated for assignment. Galvis was 8-for-38 in his last ten games with Lehigh Valley.
- Ryan Howard is 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI's against Miller in his career. Chase Utley is 4-for-6.
- David Buchanan has pitched himself to five consecutive quality starts. With his impressive run of starts, he is showing the Phillies brass that he deserves a spot in next year's rotation.
- Jon Jay's 12-game hitting streak ended on Friday night as he finished 0-for-3 against the Phillies. He batted .514 (18-for-35) during the streak.
- With Rollins, Howard and Utley in the lineup, today is the 900th time they have shared the same starting lineup at their respective positions.
Phillies Lineup:
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Domonic Brown LF
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Cody Asche 3B
- David Buchanan P
Cardinals Lineup:
- Matt Carpenter 3B
- Kolten Wong 2B
- Matt Holliday LF
- Matt Adams 1B
- Jhonny Peralta SS
- AJ Pierzynski C
- Oscar Taveras RF
- Jon Jay CF
- Shelby Miller P
Weather: 70°F – Overcast – 0% PoP
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game Time: 7:05 PM Eastern
TV: CSN
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
