Having not scored a run over their past 21 innings, in addition to having lost 11 consecutive games on the road and seven overall, the Philadelphia Phillies (22-43) will seek to avoid being swept for the fourth consecutive time on the road this evening.
Philadelphia will oppose right hander Chris Tillman and the Baltimore Orioles (32-31), who despite being fourth in their division, are three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (22-43) | Baltimore Orioles (32-31) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Jerome Williams | RHP | Chris Tillman | ||
| (3-6, 5.71 ERA) | (4-7, 5.68 ERA) | ||||
Williams, 33, has struggled over his past three starts in 15.1 innings, having allowed a combined 26 hits, five home runs and 12 runs overall to yield a 7.04 ERA. Opposing batters of the Rockies, Giants and Reds have hit .371/.397/.629 against him over this same stretch.
The right hander is (4-2) with a 4.71 ERA in his career against the Orioles over 36.1 innings. He currently ranks last this season in WHIP for all qualifying pitchers at 1.630. WHIP is a ratio that divides the sum of total walks and hits allowed by total innings pitched.
Tillman, 27, has never faced the Phillies as a team, but outfielders Ben Revere and Jeff Francoeur have faced him in the past while with other clubs. In one career at-bat against the right hander, as a Minnesota Twin on July 16, 2012, Revere doubled in the bottom of the first inning. Francoeur on the other hand is 0-4 lifetime against Tillman with a walk and two strikeouts.
The 2013 American League All-Star native to Anaheim, California is 2-0 this month in two starts with a 4.50 ERA over 12.0 innings. This is a nice rebound for Tillman, who was 0-5 in May with a 5.03 ERA in six starts and 34.0 innings.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (22-43) | Baltimore Orioles (32-31) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Projected | Bats | Position | Projected | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | 3B | Manny Machado | R |
| 2 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 2 | LF | Travis Snyder | S |
| 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | DH | Jimmy Paredes | R |
| 4 | DH | Ryan Howard | L | 4 | 1B | Chris Davis | L |
| 5 | 1B | Chase Utley | L | 5 | RF | Chris Parmelee | L |
| 6 | RF | Domonic Brown | L | 6 | SS | J.J. Hardy | R |
| 7 | LF | Cody Asche | L | 7 | 2B | Ryan Flaherty | L |
| 8 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R | 8 | C | Caleb Joseph | R |
| 9 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 9 | CF | David Lough | L |
Game Notes:
- All-time at Camden Yards, the Phillies have an even 14-14 record. They have won just once in their past seven overall meetings against the Orioles, which dates back to June 19, 2009 at Citizens Bank Park.
| Date | Opp | RS | RA | H | Hopp | E | Eopp | Inn | Win | Loss | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-06-19 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 2 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | R. Hill | A. Bastardo | |||
| 2009-06-20 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 5 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 0 | M. Hendrickson | R. Madson | G. Sherrill | ||
| 2009-06-21 | Baltimore Orioles | L | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | J. Guthrie | C. Hamels | G. Sherrill | ||
| 2012-06-08 | @ | Baltimore Orioles | W | 9 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 1 | J. Blanton | J. Arrieta | J. Papelbon | |
| 2012-06-09 | @ | Baltimore Orioles | L | 4 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 12 | L. Ayala | B. Rosenberg | |
| 2012-06-10 | @ | Baltimore Orioles | L | 4 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 10 | D. O'Day | J. Savery | |
| 2015-06-15 | @ | Baltimore Orioles | L | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | W. Chen | A. Harang |
- Over his past ten games, second baseman Chase Utley is batting .071/.206/.071 with two hits, one run-batted-in, five walks and three strikeouts over 34 plate appearances. His season batting average is now down to .187, which is the third-worst for qualifying batters behind Houston's Luis Valbuena (.181) and New York (AL)'s Stephen Drew (.175).
- Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is a career .368/.429/.579 hitter against Jerome Williams with seven hits, a double, a home run, two walks and three runs-batted-in over 19 at-bats.
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 7:05 pm EST
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
What's Next:
- Wednesday, June 17, 2015: vs. Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 pm
- RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (4-3, 3.19 ERA) vs. RHP Kevin Correia (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
- Thursday, June 18, 2015: vs. Baltimore Orioles, 1:05 pm
- RHP Bud Norris (2-4, 8.29 ERA) vs. RHP Sean O'Sullivan (1-5, 5.08 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
