Even after Jimmy Rollins' 44th
career leadoff homerun, the Phillies could not find a way to get a win in
Arizona. Even more disappointing was the waste of Tyler Cloyd's solid
performance, which was good enough to get him sent back to AAA. The Phillies fell once more to the Diamondbacks, 3-2, and after having taken the first two games from the Giants, they have lost three straight one-run games.
Perhaps the dominant hand of one Cliff Lee will help the Phillies get back on track. Tonight, he will take the mound for the Phillies in the third game of a four game series with the Diamondbacks in Arizona. Opposing him is former Athletic Trevor Cahill.
Cahill is currently 2-3 with a 2.80 ERA on the year. He is in his second year with Arizona after being acquired from Oakland in a 5-player deal a few offseasons ago. Cahill is a former 18-game winner, but has struggled to match those numbers in the last two seasons. A number of Phillies batters have faced Cahill before, and combine for a measly .236 average against him. Michael Young has 36 PA's against him from their days in the AL West, and has recorded 9 hits (2 2B, 1 HR). In the last three seasons, Cahill is 1-1 against the Phillies in three starts, holding 3.60 ERA in 20 IP. He is coming off a win against the Dodgers in which he went 7.0 innings with 2 ER and 2 K.
Cliff Lee will be facing the club he was rumored to be traded to on several occasions. He is also coming off an impressive star, where he went 8.0 innings and struck out 6. Sitting at 3-2, Lee looks to match team leader Kyle Kendrick for the most wins. This current Diamonbacks squad is a combined 31-150 against Lee, a .207 average. Watch out for Paul Goldschmidt, who is 2-6 with 2 homeruns against Lee in his career. Clifton has also faced the Diamondbacks three times in three years, and has collected a 1-1 record with a 4.09 ERA in 22.0 innings.
Game Notes:
- Cliff Lee did not get his fourth W until September 1st last season. He could reach that mark tonight.
- A loss tonight would put the Phillies 6 games under .500 for the first time since Septerber 4th, 2012.
- SCORE SOME RUNS
Phillies Lineup:
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Michael Young 3B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Delmon Young RF
- Domonic Brown LF
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Ben Revere CF
- Cliff Lee P
Diamondbacks Lineup:
- A.J. Pollock CF
- Didi Gregorious SS
- Paul Goldschmidt 1B
- Cody Ross LF
- Miguel Montero C
- Martin Prado 3B
- Gerrardo Parra RF
- Josh Wilson 2B
- Trevor Cahill P
Forecast: Partly Cloudy – 93° – 0% PoP
TV: CSN
Radio: 94.1 WIP, 1210 WPHT
GO PHILLIES!
Andrew Gillen is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewJGillen
