Cliff Lee Takes the Mound a Day Early To Battle Padres, Eric Stults

Roy Halladay was battling the flu this past weekend, so the Phillies decided to give him an extra day's rest.  Cliff Lee starts in his place.   With the Phillies off day on Monday, Lee will be pitching on normal rest.   Halladay will end up with two extra days and pitch tomorrow instead.

Lee is coming off an absolutely dominant start against the Atlanta Braves.  Lee set the tone in the first game of the Phillies' weekend sweep of the Braves, pitching eight innings and allowing just one run.  Lee only allowed two hits and walked none.  The one run came from a solo home run in the first inning.  Lee has gone eight innings in three of his last five starts.  Lee is 12-6 with a 3.01 ERA.

The competition is Eric Stults.  Stults is well-traveled in a career that spans four teams back to 2006.  But 2013 was the first year that Stults was in a pitching rotation the entire year.   Stults is at a career-high 179 1/3 innings pitched at this point, and has gone 8-13 with a 4.07 ERA.  He has struck out 113, also a career high.  He is coming off a home start against San Francisco in which he was hit for seven earned runs in four and two-thirds innings.  In his last nine starts he is 0-6.  You have to go back to July 14 to find a Stults win, a six-inning, one-run performance against the Giants.

Game Notes: 

• The Phillies are fielding a lineup that can bat right-handed in all spots except for third baseman Cody Asche.   Asche is hitting .333 against left-handed pitchers.
• Cesar Hernandez returns to the lineup and the leadoff spot.  Hernandez has hit .318 with a .432 on base percentage since taking over the leadoff spot for the Phillies.  
  
• The Padres are starting three players who did not start last night: Guzman, Hundley, and Medica.
  

Phillies lineup:

1. Cesar Hernandez CF 
2. Jimmy Rollins SS 
3. Kevin Frandsen 1B
4. Carlos Ruiz C 
5. Darin Ruf LF 
6. Cody Asche 3B 
7. Freddy Galvis 2B 
8. John Mayberry RF
9. Cliff Lee P

Padres lineup:

1. Chris Denorfia CF 
2. Chase Headley 3B 
3. Jedd Gyorko 2B 
4. Jesus Guzman LF
5. Kyle Blanks RF 
6. Tommy Medica 1B
7. Ronny Cedeno SS 
8. Nick Hundley C 
9. Eric Stults P