The Philadelphia Phillies (8-13) will send one of their most successful starting pitchers to the mound this evening, right hander Aaron Harang, as the four-game set with the St. Louis Cardinals (13-6) is currently evened at one.
Harang's opposition on the mound tonight is worthy of attention for Phillies' fans.
With Cardinals' ace starting pitcher Adam Wainwright being sidelined for 9-12 months with a torn left Achilles, trade discussions involving Cole Hamels have picked up in momentum, even as recently as Tuesday morning.
Phillies' general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has been hesitant to "pull-the-trigger" early without getting a sense of market value for the 2008 World Series MVP. With many teams currently interested, however, perhaps now is the 'perfect time', as phrased by USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
Given the Cardinals' long history of having a successful farm system, they would be the most intriguing trade partner if the Phillies were to part with Hamels.
One of the rumored players that would be sent to Philadelphia in exchange for Hamels, according to reports, would be tonight's starter for St. Louis, Carlos Martinez. Martinez has been long-linked to the Phillies, almost from the get-go with discussions involving the Cardinals.
FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi were amongst the first to report the Phillies' interest in the 23-year-old right hander. The following is an excerpt from their January 7, 2015 article:
The Cardinals’ biggest problem, perhaps, would be satisfying the Phillies.
To secure Hamels, the Cardinals likely would need to part with [Carlos] Martinez or [Marco] Gonzales as well as an outfielder such as Randal Grichuk or Stephen Piscotty (the Phillies have long coveted Peter Bourjos as well, sources say).
Nearly a month-and-a-half later, on February 18, Martinez was linked with Hamels rumors once again, this time by USA Today's Bob Nightengale:
The Phillies keep shopping Hamels, and have had plenty of talks with the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox, but continue to await an acceptable proposal. They won't trade Hamels to Boston without getting catching prospect Blake Swihart in return. The Padres' offer of prospects Hunter Renfroe and Austin Hedges isn't enough. The Dodgers have yet to include any of their top four prospects in a proposal. And the Phillies won't listen to the St. Louis Cardinals unless pitcher Carlos Martinez is in a deal.
Hamels' contract does not prohibit a trade to the Cardinals. One of the main reasons for that is because his wife, former Survivor contestant Heidi Hamels, is native to Jefferson City, Missouri.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (8-13) | St. Louis Cardinals (13-6) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Aaron Harang | RHP | Carlos Martinez | ||
| (2-1, 1.37 ERA) | (2-0, 1.35 ERA) | ||||
Harang is coming off of his best start of the season on Friday, where he threw eight shutout innings, yielding just two hits and one walk, against his former team in the Atlanta Braves.
| Date | Opp | Rslt | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF | Pit | Str | GB | FB | LD | PU | 2B | 3B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8 | BOS | W,4-2 | W(1-0) | 6.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.00 | 22 | 105 | 70 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Apr 13 | @ | NYM | L,0-2 | L(1-1) | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.73 | 24 | 97 | 63 | 5 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Apr 18 | @ | WSN | W,5-3 | W(2-1) | 6.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1.96 | 26 | 91 | 60 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 24 | ATL | W,1-0 | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1.37 | 25 | 104 | 66 | 6 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 26.1 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 1 | 1.37 | 97 |
Over each of Harang's four starts this season, he has lasted at least six innings. If he has capable of achieving that feat once again this evening, that would be huge considering the Phillies' bullpen was heavily relied upon last night in their 11-5 defeat to Michael Wacha and the Cardinals.
In 11 career starts at the new Busch Stadium, Harang is (3-6) with a 3.88 ERA in 69.2 innings.
This season for the Cardinals, Carlos Martinez has been just as successful, if not better, than Harang's contributions to the Phillies. Over three starts, 19.0 innings, Martinez has given up just 11 hits and six walks to yield a WHIP under 1.00.
| Date | Opp | Rslt | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF | Pit | Str | GB | FB | LD | PU | 2B | 3B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5 | @ | CHC | W,3-0 | H(1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 20 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 12 | @ | CIN | W,7-5 | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2.57 | 24 | 100 | 66 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Apr 18 | CIN | W,5-2 | W(1-0) | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2.08 | 23 | 86 | 53 | 4 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Apr 24 | @ | MIL | W,3-0 | W(2-0) | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1.35 | 25 | 98 | 68 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20.0 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 3 | 1.35 | 76 |
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (8-13) | St. Louis Cardinals (13-6) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | LF | Ben Revere | L | 1 | CF | Peter Bourjos | L |
| 2 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 2 | 3B | Matt Carpenter | L |
| 3 | 2B | Chase Utley | L | 3 | LF | Matt Holliday | R |
| 4 | RF | Jeff Francoeur | R | 4 | 1B | Matt Adams | L |
| 5 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L | 5 | SS | Jhonny Peralta | R |
| 6 | 3B | Cody Asche | L | 6 | RF | Jason Heyward | L |
| 7 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R | 7 | C | Yadier Molina | R |
| 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 8 | 2B | Kolten Wong | L |
| 9 | P | Aaron Harang | R | 9 | P | Carlos Martinez | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 8:15 pm EST
- TV: CSN, ESPN
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
What's Next:
Thursday, April 30, 2015: at St. Louis Cardinals, 1:45 pm
- RHP David Buchanan (0-4, 7.52 ERA) vs. LHP Tim Cooney (M-L debut)
- TV: CSN, MLBN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
