The Phillies (27-36) will look for their first sweep since they took all three from the Marlins on April 11-13 as they conclude their series today against the Padres (28-37) at 1:05pm. The Phils were victorious in game one thanks to AJ Burnett logging a solid start and some pop off the bat of Marlon Byrd. Yesterday, we witnessed a pitchers duel between Cole Hamels and San Diego's Tyson Ross. While neither starter factored into the decision, Reid Brignac hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to propel the Phillies to their second straight win. In the last 12 games, the Philadelphia has won four. Of those four, two of them were won courtesy of a Brignac walk-off. Today's pitching matchup doesn't seem to have the making of a pitchers duel, but the Phillies starter will look to improve on his first inning problems that have haunted him all season.
We are talking about Kyle Kendrick (1-6, 4.30), of course. The Phillies have been very used to playing from behind when Kendrick has taken the ball, as 12 of his 36 earned runs given up this season have been in the opening inning. If he gets out of the first without any damage, his later innings are normally more efficient. This season, Kendrick has a 2.25 ERA in the second inning and a 3.00 in the third and fifth. Last time out, Kendrick gave up four runs in seven innings of work in a 4-2 Phillies loss to Washington. While giving up four runs seems to be the norm for Kyle, he is 0-6 this season when the Phillies score 1-5 runs behind him. His one victory came against the Rockies, when the Phillies routed Colorado, 9-0. Kendrick has given up two runs or less in just four of his 12 starts this season. He is 3-1 with a 4.44 ERA in his five career games against San Diego, four of those being starts.
You wouldn't normally think the Phillies would have the pitching edge in this one, but they may. Eric Stults (2-7, 5.68), has given up 18 runs in his last 19 innings pitched. He lasted only 2.1 innings in his last start, serving up six runs to the Nationals on eight hits. The Padres lost that one, 6-0. The San Diego lefty has given up four or more runs in five out of 13 starts thus far this season and has never reached the seven inning mark in any of his outings. His last victory came on May 10th against the Marlins, when he tossed six innings of two-run ball in a 9-3 Padres victory. Stults has pitched in three games against the Phillies in his career, two starts, and has posted a 4.50 ERA. Ryan Howard has two hits in his two at-bats against Stults, both of them being homers. Marlon Byrd has two doubles and three RBI's against him while Wil Nieves has also taken Stults deep.
Game Notes:
- Seth Smith has the most success against Kendrick out of the Padres lineup, with a .571 average in 14 at-bats, including three doubles and a triple.
- Chase Headley (1-for-7) and Cameron Maybin (1-for-9) each only have one hit against Kyle, both being home runs.
- As a team, the Phillies have a .344 average against the Padres left-hander.
- Since 2002, the Phillies are 54-27 against the Padres and have outscored them by 83 runs.
- San Diego has hit .135 this month and scored 14 runs in nine games. • Ryan Howard has two homers in two at-bats against Stults, but John Mayberry Jr. gets the nod at first base today.
Phillies Lineup
- Ben Revere CF
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- John Mayberry Jr. 1B
- Domonic Brown LF
- Wil Nieves C
- Cesar Hernandez 3B
- Kyle Kendrick P
Padres Lineup
- Will Venable RF
- Everth Cabrera SS
- Seth Smith LF
- Chase Headley 3B
- Yonder Alonso 1B
- Cameron Maybin CF
- Yasmani Grandal C
- Alexi Amarista 2B
- Eric Stults P
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philladelphia, Pennsylvania
Weather: 73°F – Overcast – 25% PoP
Game Time: 1:05 PM Eastern
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
