With a split of the first two games in this series, it's not very surprising that the Phillies were victorious in Cole Hamels' start, but defeated in Kyle Kendrick's outing. And yet, neither pitcher played much of a factor in the result. On Friday, the team made their comeback toward victory after Hamels was lifted from the contest. Yesterday, Kendrick had already given the ball to the bullpen when the Giants scored their late runs. Today, it'll be David Buchanan who hopes to guide the Phils to a series victory, and a 2-3 road trip record. A rather familiar face will be on the mound for San Francisco, as former two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum gets the nod.
David Buchanan will be making lucky start number thirteen with the Phillies, and it would be hard to argue that the rookie has been anything but solid in the rotation. Since replacing an injured Cliff Lee in the rotation, Buchanan has pitched to the tune of a 4.40 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a .281 BABIP. He's coming off of two very similar outings in which he went at least six innings with three earned runs allowed. Buchanan has also gone eight straight games with at least five innings pitched and three or fewer earned runs allowed.
Well documented are Tim Lincecum's struggles in his past couple of seasons since he won his last Cy Young award. This year has been a shade improved, but Lincecum still appears to be a shell of his former self. While he did not make a start when the Giants played in Philadelphia a couple weeks ago, Lincecum did come in for relief in the fourteen inning marathon back on July 22nd. Twelve of his career starts have come against the Phillies, including his major league debut. Four of those starts saw Big Time Timmy Jim allow five or more earned runs, while the other eight saw just two or less given up.
Game Notes
- Through 123 games played this year, the Phillies have collected just 54 wins. With that pace, they will end up winning 71 total games. Should that be the case, it would be the organization's worst record since 2000, when they collected just 65 wins.
- Four batters in the Phillies' everyday lineup have at least eighteen at bats against Tim Lincecum. Here are each of their outcomes:
Ryan Howard (22 ABs): .273 AVG, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs
Jimmy Rollins (22 ABs): .273 AVG, 0 HRs, 1 RBI
Carlos Ruiz (18 ABs): .222 AVG, 0 HRs, 0 RBIs
Chase Utley (23 ABs): .261 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBIs - Following today's game, the Phillies will play nine straight home games against the Mariners, Cardinals, and Nationals. They'll have one more West Coast trip in September, when they will travel back to California to play the Padres and Athletics.
Phillies Lineup
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Grady Sizemore LF
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Cody Asche 3B
- David Buchanan P
Giants Lineup
- Angel Pagan CF
- Hunter Pence RF
- Buster Posey 1B
- Pablo Sandoval 3B
- Michael Morse LF
- Joe Panik 2B
- Andrew Susac C
- Brandon Crawford SS
- Tim Lincecum P
Weather: 66°F – Partly Cloudy – 0% PoP
Location: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California
Game Time: 4:05 PM Eastern
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
