The Philadelphia Phillies (11-23), who have the worst record in baseball, will look for their eighth home win of the season tonight as they oppose left handed starter Francisco Liriano and the Pittsburgh Pirates (17-16).
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Pittsburgh Pirates (17-16) | Philadelphia Phillies (11-23) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Francisco Liriano | LHP | Cole Hamels | ||
| (1-2, 2.79 ERA) | (2-3, 3.68 ERA) | ||||
Liriano's only career start against the Phillies occurred last season on September 11. He threw eight shutout innings, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out 12 batters: Revere, Galvis, Burnett, Asche, Franco (2), Howard (2), Ruf (2) and Hernandez (2).
Overall this season, Liriano, 31, has allowed just 20 hits over 38.2 innings, and has struck out 44 batters. He has allowed three earned runs or less in five of his six starts, and has retired at least seven batters in four of those five.
Opposing the Pirates' left handed ace will be the Phillies' left handed ace of their own, Cole Hamels. Hamels has seven career starts against Pittsburgh, and is (2-2) with a 2.76 ERA and 0.980 WHIP.
| Date | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | HBP | ERA | BF | Pit | Str |
| 9-Jul-06 | W | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5.44 | 23 | 99 | 65 |
| 11-Jul-09 | ND | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4.87 | 25 | 90 | 62 |
| 26-Aug-09 | ND | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4.52 | 33 | 123 | 82 |
| 1-Jul-10 | L | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4.07 | 29 | 111 | 83 |
| 3-Jun-11 | ND | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.83 | 28 | 98 | 58 |
| 23-Apr-13 | L | 8 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5.40 | 34 | 118 | 82 |
| 4-Jul-13 | W | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4.38 | 26 | 103 | 76 |
| Total | (2-2) | 49 | 38 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 46 | 4 | 1 | 2.76 | 198 | 742 | 508 |
Starting Lineups:
| Pittsburgh Pirates (17-16) | Philadelphia Phillies (11-23) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 3B | Josh Harrison | R | 1 | CF | Ben Revere | L |
| 2 | 1B | Sean Rodriguez | R | 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 3 | CF | Andrew McCutchen | R | 3 | 2B | Chase Utley | L |
| 4 | LF | Starling Marte | R | 4 | LF | Darin Ruf | R |
| 5 | RF | Corey Hart | R | 5 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L |
| 6 | C | Francisco Cervelli | R | 6 | RF | Jeff Francoeur | R |
| 7 | 2B | Neil Walker | S | 7 | 3B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 8 | SS | Jordy Mercer | R | 8 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R |
| 9 | P | Francisco Liriano | L | 9 | P | Cole Hamels | L |
Game Notes:
- So far in seven 2015 starts, Cole Hamels has received just 13 supporting runs from the Phillies' offense, or approximately 1.86 runs per game. This is the lowest ratio in all of baseball, ahead of Jake Odorizzi's 2.00 run support average with the Tampa Bay Rays.
- The Phillies have lost four consecutive series (vs. Mets, at Braves, at Marlins, at Cardinals), and are on the brink of losing a fifth this evening. They are also in a midst of a four-game losing streak, and have dropped the first two games of the current, four-game set with the Pirates.
- Grady Sizemore and Jeff Francoeur have batted a combined 5-42 (.119) with three RBIs and 17 strikeouts in their careers against Liriano. Sizemore is out of tonight's lineup, however Francoeur is batting sixth and starting in right field.
Broadcast Information:
- First-pitch: 7:05 pm EST
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
What's Next:
Thursday, May 14, 2015: vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 1:05 pm
- RHP Vance Worley (2-2, 4.63 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Harang (3-3, 2.38 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
