With the no-hitter clearly in the rear view mirror after last night's 9-0 win, the Phillies (22-26) continue their series today against Colorado (27-24) looking to press the repeat button tonight at 7:05PM. It was nice to see Ryan Howard have a good game as we have all seen the frustration on his face these past weeks. He is tied for 4th in Major League Baseball in strikeouts with 58, behind only Starling Marte and the Upton brothers. Hopefully his five RBI day gives the Phillies slugger some confidence moving forward, despite the fact he is not in tonight's lineup. Also, in what seems to be the lone, consistent bright spot this season, Chase Utley went 3-for-4 yesterday, raising his average to .337, good for fourth in the majors.
The Phillies will send Cole Hamels (1-2, 4.30) to the bump tonight, looking for him to continue on his previous three starts, where he went seven innings in each, giving up three runs or less. After starting the season off by giving up 13 runs in 16.2 innings of work, the Phillies lefty has given up just five earned runs over his last 21 innings of work. Hamels has had plenty off success against Rockies hitters, holding their current team to a mere .200 average against. In 13 at-bats against Cole, Carlos Gonzalez has a .308 average, including a double and a triple. Justin Morneau is 4-for-8 against him with a double, homer and four RBI's. Last year, Hamels faced the Rockies once. He went seven innings and gave up just three runs while striking out seven in a 5-2 loss.
The Rockies will counter with Jorge De La Rosa (5-3, 3.91), who has been superb as of late, compiling a 1.85 ERA his last six starts, holding opponents to a .181 average. He was 0-3 with a 7.58 ERA during his first four outings. De La Rosa has a 6.42 career ERA against the Phils, but over his last two starts has held them to three runs in 14.1 innings. The Phils have a .333 average against the Rockies left-hander, with Utley (.364), Rollins (.333) and Ruiz (.444) leading the charge. In his last start, De La Rosa's outing was spoiled by rain against the Giants. He threw seven shutout innings against San Diego during a 3-1 win for Colorado on May 16th.
Game Notes:
- Ryan Howard will be on the bench for tonight's game with a .231 average against De La Rosa and .212 average against lefties this season. Darin Ruf gets the start in his place.
- John Mayberry, who is 5-for-8 after going through a 1-for-23 slump, will get the nod in left field over Domonic Brown tonight.
- Over their past 17 home games, the Phillies have been held to one run three times and been shut out six times.
- The Phillies have wasted plenty of Cole Hamels' performances this season, losing two of his last three, where he has held teams to three runs or less.
- Hamels is facing a Rockies team in an offensive slump. They are hitting .181 with nine runs during a 1-6 stretch on the road, and they scored in the last two games.
- Troy Tulowitzki leads the majors with a .378 average, and he's 16 for 30 with three doubles, three homers and 10 RBIs over his last nine meetings with the Phillies.
- Philadelphia has won four of six at home behind a 1.83 ERA, which has compensated for its .234 batting average.
Phillies Lineup:
Ben Revere CF
Jimmy Rollins SS
Chase Utley 2B
Marlon Byrd RF
Darin Ruf 1B
John Mayberry Jr. LF
Carlos Ruiz C
Cesar Hernandez 3B
Cole Hamels P
Rockies Lineup:
Drew Stubbs CF
DJ LeMahieu 2B
Troy Tulowitzki SS
Carlos Gonzalez LF
Michael Cuddyer RF
Justin Morneau 1B
Wilin Rosario C
Charlie Culberson 3B
Jorge De La Rosa P
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Weather: 82° F – Scattered T-Storms – 60% PoP
Game Time: 7:05 PM Eastern
Brandon Apter is a writer for Phillidelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
