By SAMUEL BOTWINICK | Staff Writer
April 10, 2014, 11:45 p.m.
@avdbkr20samuel
The storyline: The Phillies will stay at Citizens Bank Park, where they have yet to win this season, until April 18, when they face the Rockies at Coors Field.
Game 1 - A.J. Burnett (0-1, 3.86) vs. Jose Fernandez (2-0, 0.71)
Game 2 - Jonathan Pettibone (0-0, 0.00) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 3.46)
Game 3 - Kyle Kendrick (0-1, 3.75) vs. Henderson Alvarez (0-2, 4.15)
Phillies Notes: 3-6, last (5th) place in NL East... The Phillies will try to avoid losing five games in a row, after being swept by the scorching hot Brewers, when they face the virtually unhittable Ferrnandez on Friday night at 7:05. The fifth starter mystery has finally been solved. The Phillies have announced that it will be right hander, Jonathan Pettibone, and that he will pitch on Saturday against the Marlins. The 23-year-old has struggled this year. Splitting time between Lehigh Valley and Reading, Pettibone has not posted under a 5.40 ERA, wherever he has gone this year, and he does not have a single win either to go along with that. Chase Utley is on a tear right now, hitting .464 early in the season, which is good for second in the Majors. The Phillies as a team are tied with the Dodgers for the ninth best OPS in the MLB (.728). They are also hitting .263 as a team, which is 11th best in the Majors.
Injury update:
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. confirmed Thursday that Cole Hamels (biceps) might only need two more rehab starts. The left hander allowed two runs on three
hits over four innings in a rehab start with High-A Clearwater Sunday.
He's expected to make three more starts before joining the Phillies at
the end of April.
Marlins Notes: 5-5, 3rd place in NL East... The Marlins could not figure out how to defeat the red-hot Nationals, resulting in three-game sweep of them by the Nationals. The Marlins have the sixth best batting average in the Majors (.269). Giancarlo Stanton, who was discussed in trade talks this off-season, is off to a hot start in 2014, with a .293 batting average, two home runs, and 13 RBI in only 10 games. Strangely enough, he is hitting .345 in home games, compared to only .167 on the road. He also only has one of his 13 RBI on the road. The Marlins started out similarly to the Phillies, winning four out of their first five games of the season, but, like the Phillies, are in the midst of a four-game skid. They are in the middle of an NL East showdown between the Phillies and the Nationals. After they play the Phillies, they go back home to play the Nationals.
Marlins Notes: 5-5, 3rd place in NL East... The Marlins could not figure out how to defeat the red-hot Nationals, resulting in three-game sweep of them by the Nationals. The Marlins have the sixth best batting average in the Majors (.269). Giancarlo Stanton, who was discussed in trade talks this off-season, is off to a hot start in 2014, with a .293 batting average, two home runs, and 13 RBI in only 10 games. Strangely enough, he is hitting .345 in home games, compared to only .167 on the road. He also only has one of his 13 RBI on the road. The Marlins started out similarly to the Phillies, winning four out of their first five games of the season, but, like the Phillies, are in the midst of a four-game skid. They are in the middle of an NL East showdown between the Phillies and the Nationals. After they play the Phillies, they go back home to play the Nationals.
The Philadelphia Baseball Review