The Philadelphia Phillies open a three game set with the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ball Park tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10. Philadelphia is coming off a 6-4 win in the series finale against the San Francisco Giants. Outfielder Jeff Francoeur had yet another big day. Saturday, he blasted a Grand Slam in the losing effort. Yesterday, his two run double in the seventh propelled the Phillies to victory.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Cincinnati Reds(24-31) | Philadelphia Phillies (22-36) |
|---|
| RHP | Mike Leake | LHP | Cole Hamels | ||
| (2-4, 4.40ERA) | (5-4, 2.88 ERA) | ||||
Cole Hamels will get the call for the Phillies tonight. Hamels pitched seven innings allowing six hits and two runs to the Reds in his last outing. He also struck out eight and walked three. The no decision kept his record a perfect 10-0 in fourteen career starts against the Reds.
Hamels has pitched at least seven innings while giving u p two or fewer runs in each of his last six starts. It marks the longest such stretch of his career and the longest by a Phillie pitcher since Cliff Lee did it over nine consecutive starts back in 2011.
Mike Leake will once again oppose Hamels as he did last week. In that outing, Leake no hit the Phillies for the first seven innings and shut them out through eight. He would yield two runs in the ninth en route to a no decision.
It was his best start in almost a month when he went eight shutout innings on May 6th against Pittsburgh.
Starting Lineups:
| Cincinnati Reds(24-31) | Philadelphia Phillies (22-36) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Brandon Phillips | R | 1 | RF | Ben Revere | L |
| 2 | 1B | Joey Votto | L | 2 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 3 | 3B | Todd Frazier | R |
3 |
2B | Chase Utley | L |
| 4 | RF | Jay Bruce | L | 4 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L |
| 5 | SS | Zack Cozart | R | 5 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 6 | LF | Ivan DeJesus | R | 6 | LF | Cody Asche | L |
| 7 | C | Tucker Barnhart | S | 7 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 8 | P | Mike Leake | R | 8 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R |
| 9 | CF | Billy Hamilton | S | 9 | P | Cole Hamels | L |
Game Notes:
- This is game seven of a nine day stretch. The Phillies will have off Thursday before starting a series of 13 straight days of games.
- Jeff Francoeur went 3 for 9 in the series against the Giants. His average is up over twenty points since May 26th.
- Chase Utley went 0 for 7 in the Giants series and saw his average drop below .200 once again.
- Odubel Herrera hit his second home run of the year yesterday and first since May 11th in Pittsburgh
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 7:10 pm EST
- TV: CSN Philly
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
What's Next:
Thursday, June 4, 2015: at Cincinatti Reds, 7:10 pm
- RHP Anthony DeSclafani (4-4, 3.60 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Harang(4-6, 2.45 ERA)
Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Philliedelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074
