Carlos Ruiz Returns As A.J. Burnett Looks To Play Stopper Against Giants

If you stayed up late last night and watched the end of the game, you saw that the Phillies lost to the Giants 9-6. Taking the first two losses in this set of four with the Giants, the Phillies will look to punch their way to a W tonight in game three. They will send out A.J. Burnett (6-9, 4.08 ERA) to take on the Giants' star lefty Madison Bumgarner (11-7, 3.38 ERA) and a Giants lineup that has scored 16 times in the past two games.

A.J. Burnett has just one win in his last five starts and a 4.75 ERA in that stretch, A.J. Burnett is looking to turn it around as he takes on the Giants tonight. With a career 2.30 ERA against San Francisco, Burnett will look to bounce back from a hideous outing last Friday. In that start, Burnett pitched five innings deep for the first time since May 20th and allowed six earned runs on 10 hits. As the trade deadline moves closer and closer, teams will be looking deeply into Burnett's next couple of starts as they try to determine if he will be of any use to them en route towards October. 

Madison Bumgarner won his 11th of the year last Friday against the Marlins. The left-hander tossed six brilliant frames while allowing four hits (including a solo home run) while striking out seven to raise his total to 135 for the year. With his club in first in the NL West, Bumgarner is looking to give his team a two-game lead on the Dodgers as he takes on a Philadelphia team that he knows. In three career starts against the Phils, Bumgarner has a collective record of 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA with 18 strike outs.

Game Notes:

• The Giants are 41-15 this season when they hit at least one home run.
• Darin Ruf, who was called up yesterday afternoon, went 0-1 in a pinch hit situation last night.  Ruf gets the start in place of Ryan Howard at first base.
• Carlos Ruiz is back in Philadelphia and in the lineup.
• Phillippe Aumont will be a fresh arm in the Phillies bullpen tonight.  Only Mario Hollands did not pitch yesterday.

Tonight's Lineups:

Phillies lineup:

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Jimmy Rollins SS
3. Chase Utley 2B
4. Marlon Byrd RF
5. Carlos Ruiz C
6. Domonic Brown LF
7. Darin Ruf 1B
8. Andres Blanco 3B
9. A.J. Burnett P.

Giants lineup:

1. Hunter Pence RF
2. Ehire Adrianza 2B
3. Buster Posey C
4. Pablo Sandoval 3B
5. Michael Morse LF
6. Adam Duvall 1B
7. Tyler Colvin CF
8. Brandon Crawford SS
9. Madison Bumgarner P

First Pitch: 7:05 PM ET
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA.
Weather: 75° – Scattered T-Storms – 50% Precip
TV: CSN, ESPN

Erik Seybold is a writer for Philliedelphia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.