Thursday, June 16, 2011
Posted: 10:45 a.m.
CSNPhilly.com
Phillies (43-26) vs. Marlins (32-36), 1:05 p.m. on CSN
Starting Pitchers
Phillies: Cliff Lee (6-5, 3.41) has won two straight starts and four of his last five outings. He gave up one run and four hits in eight innings Saturday in a win over the Cubs. He last faced Florida on May 11, going six innings (three runs, seven hits) in a no-decision.
Marlins: Javier Vazquez (3-6, 7.09) is in the midst of the worst season of his career. He was torched for seven runs in 3 23 innings Saturday in a 9-5 loss to Arizona. The Phillies blitzed him for six runs in 4 13 innings on May 9.
Previous games
The Phillies swept a doubleheader from the Marlins on Wednesday. They took the opener, 8-1, as Jimmy Rollins drove in four runs and Kyle Kendrick logged seven strong innings. The nightcap was a 5-4 Phils win in which the team rallied to tie it in the ninth on a two-run single by Shane Victorino before Carlos Ruiz's RBI single won it in the 10th.
Head-to-head
The Phillies are 6-2 against the Marlins this season. They split a rain-shortened two-game set at the Bank in mid-April before winning two of three in Florida from May 9-11. They are 3-0 in the first three games of this series.
MLB
Whos hot?
Chase Utley has eight hits, including four doubles, a triple and two homers, in his last five games. He has eight RBIs over that stretch. Shane Victorino has recorded multiple hits in four of his last six games. Lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo logged two-thirds of an inning Wednesday to lower his ERA to 1.05. He hasn't given up a run since May 25, a stretch of 10 scoreless appearances.
For Florida, Gaby Sanchez enters on a seven-game hitting streak. He homered off Roy Halladay in the nightcap of Wednesday's doubleheader.
Storylines
The Phillies are looking to continue what is arguably their best stretch of baseball this season. ... Lee is hoping to go a third straight start without allowing a home run. ... The last time the Phillies swept a series of more than three games from Florida, it was an ultra-rare five-game series from June 28 to July 1, 2001.
Sound off
Who do you think is the most underrated Phillies player?