Having won their first game in nearly two weeks yesterday afternoon, the Philadelphia Phillies (23-45) will seek to carry the momentum into a weekend series against Mike Matheny's National League Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals (43-23).
Right hander Phillippe Aumont will start for the first time in his career tonight, in lieu of left handed ace Cole Hamels (mild hamstring strain).
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| St. Louis Cardinals (43-23) | Philadelphia Phillies (23-45) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Tyler Lyons | RHP | Phillippe Aumont | ||
| (1-0, 5.00 ERA) | (2014: 0-1, 19.06 ERA) | ||||
Despite having pitched in 27 games, 16 starts and 107.2 innings since his major league debut on May 22, 2013, 27-year-old left hander Tyler Lyons has never faced the Phillies. Only outfielder Jeff Francoeur has faced Lyons in the past, and he hitless in two at-bats.
Replacing starting pitcher Lance Lynn (forearm) in the rotation on June 13, Lyons earned his first win of the season and third win overall in his career. He allowed just three hits, a walk and two earned runs against the Kansas City Royals.
The Lubbock, Texas-native out of the University of Oklahoma has 23 strikeouts in 18 innings this season.
Aumont, 26, was acquired by the Phillies on December 16, 2009 from the Seattle Mariners, along with two other players no longer with the franchise, in exchange for Cliff Lee.
In 45 career appearances in relief, 39.2 innings, Aumont has surrendered 48 hits, 29 runs (27 earned), three home runs and 27 walks to yield a 1.891 WHIP ratio.
Last season was a struggle for Aumont, who is native to Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. He gave up at least two runs in four of his five relief appearances. On August 2 at Nationals Park, Aumont's final appearance of 2014, he allowed six earned runs, eight hits and a walk over just two innings.
| Date | Opp | Rslt | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF | Pit | Str | AB | 2B | 3B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1 | NYM | L,3-4 | L(0-1) | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 18.00 | 5 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jun 2 | NYM | L,2-11 | 0.2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 21.60 | 4 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Jul 28 | @ | NYM | L,1-7 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 4 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Jul 30 | @ | NYM | L,2-11 | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 14.73 | 7 | 34 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Aug 2 | @ | WSN | L,0-11 | 2.0 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 19.06 | 15 | 54 | 33 | 13 | 2 | 1 | |
| 5.2 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 19.06 | 35 |
In his career against the Cardinals, Aumont has tossed two perfect innings, striking out two batters. Outfielder Matt Holliday, along with infielders Pete Kozma and Mark Reynolds, have combined to bat 0-4 in their careers against the right hander. Holliday, who is a lifetime .269/.351/.546 hitter against the Phillies, will not make the series as he was placed on the disabled list on June 9 with a Grade 2 right quad strain.
Starting Lineups:
| St. Louis Cardinals (43-23) | Philadelphia Phillies (23-45) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Bats | Position | Bats | ||||
| 1 | 2B | Kolten Wong | L | 1 | CF | Ben Revere | L |
| 2 | 3B | Matt Carpenter | L | 2 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 3 | SS | Jhonny Peralta | R | 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 4 | 1B | Mark Reynolds | R | 4 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L |
| 5 | RF | Jason Heyward | L | 5 | LF | Jeff Francoeur | R |
| 6 | C | Yadier Molina | R | 6 | RF | Domonic Brown | L |
| 7 | LF | Randal Grichuk | R | 7 | C | Cameron Rupp | R |
| 8 | CF | Jon Jay | L | 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 9 | P | Tyler Lyons | L | 9 | P | Phillippe Aumont | L |
Game Notes:
- The Philadelphia Phillies are 891-1163 (.434 W-L%) all-time against the St. Louis Cardinals. Since the opening of Citizens Bank Park in 2004, they are 44-39 overall (.530 %), and 19-17 (.528 %) at home against the Redbirds.
- The Phillies sent reliever Hector Neris to AAA Lehigh Valley to make room for Phillippe Aumont on the 25-man active roster. The Phillies had a 40-man roster spot already.
- In 20 games pitched at home, Aumont has allowed 13 hits, nine earned runs and nine walks over 18.2 innings to yield a 4.34 ERA. He has struck out 20 batters however, which averages-out to an even one strikeout per appearance at the venue.
- Phillies' outfielder Ben Revere is batting .361 in the month of June with 17 singles, three doubles, two triples, one run-batted-in, and two walks.
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 7:05 pm EST
- TV: NBC10
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
What's Next:
- Saturday, June 20, 2015: vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 7:05 pm
- RHP John Lackey (5-4, 3.59 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Harang (4-8, 3.24 ERA)
- TV: TCN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Sunday, June 21, 2015: vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 1:35 pm
- RHP Michael Wacha (9-2, 2.48 ERA) vs. TBA
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
