The Philadelphia Phillies (25-47) won in convincing fashion last night against the New York Yankees (38-32), thanks to a stellar performance from rookie third baseman Maikel Franco.
This win against Michael Pineda and the Yankees snapped a 12-game road losing streak, which was the Phillies' longest skid away from the South Philadelphia Sports Complex since 1999, according to Meghan Montemurro of The News Journal.
With Sean O'Sullivan on the mound tonight against left hander CC Sabathia, a win would assure the Phillies from not losing their sixth consecutive road series, and it would also be their first series victory over an American League East opponent since July 1-3, 2011 at Toronto.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (25-47) | New York Yankees (38-32) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Sean O'Sullivan | LHP | CC Sabathia | ||
| (1-5, 4.79 ERA) | (3-7, 5.31 ERA) | ||||
O'Sullivan, 27, is coming off of a career-high, seven strikeout performance as he allowed just one run in five innings on June 18 to snap the Phillies' nine-game losing streak. The right hander has allowed an opposing batting line of .308/.376/.451 over four starts in the month of June. He also has given up 23 hits, 15 earned runs, seven walks and seven home runs in 23.0 innings during this month.
In four career starts against the Yankees, O'Sullivan is 2-2 with a 5.87 ERA.
Sabathia, 34, has seven career starts against the Phillies, which include three postseason appearances. He is 2-3 with a 4.60 ERA, having allowed 23 earned runs in 45.0 innings of work.
The 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner, and six-time All-Star, has given up at least three earned runs and three walks in six and five of his seven career starts against the Phillies respectively.
Sabathia's third career start against Philadelphia is perhaps his most memorable one to Phillies fans. In Game 2 of the 2008 NLDS, two batters after starting pitcher Brett Myers worked a nine-pitch walk in the bottom of the second, center fielder Shane Victorino hit a grand slam against the southpaw to blow open the game early, 5-1 in favor of the Phillies.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (25-47) | New York Yankees (38-32) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Bats | Position | Bats | ||||
| 1 | CF | Ben Revere | L | 1 | CF | Brett Gardner | L |
| 2 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 2 | 3B | Chase Headley | S |
| 3 | 1B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | DH | Alex Rodriguez | R |
| 4 | DH | Ryan Howard | L | 4 | C | Brian McCann | L |
| 5 | LF | Jeff Francoeur | R | 5 | RF | Carlos Beltran | S |
| 6 | RF | Domonic Brown | L | 6 | 1B | Garrett Jones | L |
| 7 | 3B | Andres Blanco | R | 7 | LF | Chris Young | R |
| 8 | C | Cameron Rupp | R | 8 | SS | Didi Gregorius | L |
| 9 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 9 | 2B | Jose Pirela | R |
Game Notes:
- Outfielder Jeff Francoeur (15 at-bats) and first baseman Ryan Howard (eight at-bats) each have three hits, a double, a walk and three strikeouts against Sabathia in their careers. Both are in tonight's lineup.
- Cesar Hernandez is starting at second base once again. Chase Utley, hitless last night, is on the bench.
- The Phillies have won five of their last seven regular season games against the Yankees, all of which have occurred in new Yankee Stadium. During this stretch, they are averaging an even six runs scored per game.
- Alex Rodriguez is 4-12 in his career against O'Sullivan with two doubles, a home run and two runs-batted-in.
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 7:05 pm EST
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
What's Next:
- Wednesday, June 24, 2015: at New York Yankees, 1:05 pm
- LHP Cole Hamels (5-5, 2.96 ERA) vs. RHP Ivan Nova (2015 debut)
- TV: NBC 10, MLBN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
