Phillies open six-game homestand with series against the Padres

By PATRICK GORDON | Managing Editor
June 10 2014, 5PM EDT.
@Philabaseball

PHILADELPHIA - The Phillies open a six-game homestand Tuesday with a three-game series against the San Diego Padres

If the Phillies were ever to put together a string of wins now would be the time to do it. The club sits in the NL East cellar 11 games below .500 and the Padres are the worst offensive club in baseball..

"I believe there is a hot streak in there," said manager Ryne Sandberg. "If we could put together two or three weeks or a month with a hot streak, we can chip away and get back."

Problem is, the Phillies have not put together a winning streak of more than three games since June 2-6 2013.

A.J. Burnett gets the ball for the Phillies on Tuesday night and he has struggled over his last three starts, but the Padres enter Tuesday batting just .127 over seven games this month.

"It isn't just one guy," said Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. "We all need to focus and put something together here."

With reliever Mike Adams placed on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, the Phillies on Sunday promoted hard-throwing reliever Ken Giles from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 23-year-old right-hander had a 1.20 ERA in 13 games with 29 strikeouts in just 15 innings.

"I'm not perfect," Giles said. "I'm not a complete project yet, but I'm only going to get better with experience."

Now just seven weeks for the July 31st trade deadline, these next six games may dictate how the rest of the summer unfolds for the Phillies. 

Injury Updates: Cody Asche is expected to begin a rehab assignment on Friday ... Cliff Lee is progressing, but has yet to throw a baseball ... Mike Adams will have a cortisone shot and will not throw for 10 days.

Phillies Lineup: Revere 8, Rollins 6, Utley 4, Howard 3, Byrd 9, Brown 7, Ruiz 2, Hernandez 5, Burnett 1.

Padres Lineup: Venable 8, Cabrera 6, Smith 9, Quentin 7, Headley 5, Alonso 3, Rivera 2, Peterson 4, Kennedy 1.

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