Philadelphia Phillies Series Preview: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 4/21-4/24

By PATRICK GORDON | Managing Editor
April 21 2014, 1 p.m.
@Philabaseball

The storyline: After dropping two of three in Denver the Phillies open a four-game set at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. 

Game 1 - Cliff Lee (2-2, 4.00) vs. Paul Maholm (0-1, 4.97)

Game 2 - A.J. Burnett (0-1, 2.74) vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-1, 1.93)

Game 3 - Cole Hamels (0-0, 0.00) vs. Zack Greinke (3-0, 2.42)
Game 4 - Kyle Kendrick (0-2, 3.60) vs. Dan Haren (3-0, 2.16)

Phillies notes: 8-10, 5th place in NL East ... In four career starts at Dodger Stadium, left-hander Cliff Lee is 1-0 with a 1.48 ERA (5 ER, 30.1 IP) and .154 AVG against (16-104) ... Overall, he is 2-2, 1.70 ERA (10 ER, 53.0 IP) in seven career starts vs LAD … He has posted a 0.83 WHIP (34 H, 10 BB, 53.0 IP) in his career against the Dodgers, which is the best of any pitcher in ML history vs LAD (min.53.0 IP) ... The Phillies are just 4-10 (.286) against the Dodgers since the beginning of the 2012 season ... However, the Phillies are 13-8 (.619) in their last 21 games against Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium (including the postseason) ... Over that stretch, Philadelphia has outscored Los Angeles 98-69 while posting a 3.10 team ERA (65 ER, 189.0 IP).

Dodgers notes: 12-7, 1st place in NL West ... The Dodgers have scored first in 13 of their 19 games this season, going 11-2 in those contests. Los Angeles is outscoring opponents by 24 runs (56-32) in the first five innings this season, the best run differential in the Majors during that part of the game ... The Dodgers lead the Majors with 21 stolen bases and are tied for third with 63 extra-base hits this season ... The Dodgers rank third in the Majors with a 2.85 ERA … The club’s starters have gone 10-2 with a 2.45 ERA (29 ER/106.1 IP,) (3rd, MLB) with the relief corps. posting a 1-5 record with seven saves and a 3.45 ERA (27 ER/70.1 IP). 

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