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NL East Series Preview 7-27-09 through 7-30-09
Filed Under (Series Preview) by mrose at 4:00 PM on 07-27-2009
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| The Philadelphia Phillies(56-40, 1st in NL East) have been in first for every single series Preview i’ve done and just keep getting better. The Phillies faced a challenge last weekend with three games against the formerly first place Cardinals in the NL Central. They got hit pretty hard on Friday night and Saturday the pitching wasn’t top notch, they they still managed to take the final two games in the series behind their hitting.  Their offense hit six home runs including a Rollins Grand Slam on Saturday and scored 23 runs in the final two games of the series. They will travel to Arizona to begin a west coast swing on Monday and hope to continue extending their lead and wondering what new pieces may arrive by the Friday trade deadline. Check out Phillies Phandom for more Philadelphia insight.
The Diamondbacks(43-56, 4th in NL West 19.5GB) finished off their week with two shutout victories against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Those games were won by a combined score of 16-0 after they had lost four of their previous six games. They will now welcome in a much tougher opponent to their ballpark and hope to play the role of David as they are virtually out of all hopes of the playoffs. Probable pitching matchups are below: |
| Monday @ 9:40PM EST – Moyer,PHI(9-7,4.5.65 ERA) vs. Garland,ARI(5-9,4.41 ERA) |
| Tuesday @ 9:40PM EST – Hamels,PHI(6-5,4.66 ERA) vs. Haren,ARI(10-5,2.14 ERA) |
| Wednesday @ 9:40PM EST – Happ,PHI(7-1,2.97 ERA) vs. Petit,ARI(0-5,7.68 ERA) |
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| The Atlanta Braves(51-48, 2nd in NL East 6.5GB) are on a great run since the All-Star break as they have won 8 of their 11 games versus the Mets, Giants and Brewers. They will continue a six game road trip on Tuesday night as they travel down to the divisional rival Marlins for a three game set in the heat. Both teams have been playing well and this series will break a tie for second place in the division going into the weekend. Check out The Braves Baseball Blog for more Braves information and insight.
The Florida Marlins(51-48, 2nd in NL East 6.5GB) are coming off a great rebound week after being swept by the division leading Phillies the previous weekend. On a west coast trip versus the lowly Padres and the National League best Dodgers, the Marlins won five of six and mainly relied on their pitching to get through. They now hope to continue this through a home stand starting with the Braves. Check out FishGuts for more Marlins info. The probable pitchers are shown below: |
| Tuesday @ 7:10PM EST – Jurrjens,ATL(9-7,2.67 ERA) vs. Nolasco,FLA(7-7,5.42 ERA) |
| Wednesday @ 7:10PM EST – Kawakami,ATL(5-7,4.04 ERA) vs. Johnson,FLA(9-2,2.80 ERA) |
| Thursday @ 7:10PM EST – Vazquez,ATL(8-7,2.98 ERA) vs. VandenHurk,FLA(1-0,2.45 ERA) |
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| The Mets(46-51, 4th in NL East 10.5GB) are finally coming into a series on a good note. They walked into Houston this weekend after going 2-5 for the first seven games of a 10 game trip and had to face a hot Astros team. They did lose the first game, on a oddly bad game from their ace, Johan Santana but then rebounded. In the final two games they scored 18 runs and only gave up six in a rare offensive outburst. They will have a tough task again this week as they start by facing the wildcard leading Colorado Rockies tonight for the first time at Citi Field and their first home game since the All-Star break. Check out The Real Dirty Mets Blog for more Mets info.
The Colorado Rockies(54-44, 2nd in NL West 8GB leading Wildcard) are still absolutely on fire since their management change. Last week they took two of three from the Diamondbacks and then from wildcard and division rival Giants to take a two game lead in the wildcard race. The Colorado residents though will be in for a rude awakening at pitcher friendly Citi Field this week. The probable pitchers are shown below: |
| Monday @ 7:10PM EST – Jimenez,COL(7-9,3.85 ERA) vs. Perez,NYM(2-3,7.68 ERA) |
| Tuesday@7:10PM EST -Marquis,COL(12-6,3.49 ERA) vs. Pelfrey,NYM(7-6,4.99 ERA) |
| Wednesday @ 7:10PM EST – Hammel,COL(5-5,4.28 ERA) vs. Santana,NYM(11-8,3.12 ERA) |
| Thursday @ 12:10PM EST – De La Rosa,COL(8-7,4.78 ERA) vs. Niese,NYM(1-0,4.08 ERA) |
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| The Washington Nationals(30-68, fifth in NL East 27GB) are playing about as well as they have all season. After being swept by the Chicago Cubs last weekend and losing the first game of the series to the Mets, they finished the week 4-2 with series wins versus the Padres and the Mets, but did lose a makeup game to the Cardinals in between. They will now travel to Milwaukee where the Brewers will be waiting after losing two out of three to the Braves this past weekend. They Nationals will hope that their young pitching can hold up and give them a few more chances to win, but you do wonder if the team will still be complete by Friday, with ‘ the trade deadline looming. Check out CenterfieldGate for more Nats information.
The Milwaukee Brewers(49-49, third in NL Central 3GB) missed a great chance to make up some ground in the division this weekend. The Cardinals fell out of first place after being thumped by the Phillies, and with that the Brewers stayed three games back and allowed the Cubs to get into first place as they lost two ouf of three to the Atlanta Braves. Lucky for them that no one in the Central division is anywhere near running away with it, and they hope to get back on the winning track against the major league worst Washington Nationals. The probable pitchers are shown below: |
| Monday @ 8:05PM EST – Stammen,WAS(3-5,4.14 ERA) vs. Suppan,WAS(5-7,4.71 ERA) |
| Tuesday @ 8:05PM EST – Balester,WAS(0-1,6.00 ERA) vs. TBA,MIL(-,-.–) |
| Wednesday @ 8:05PM EST – Mock,WAS(0-4,7.06 ERA) vs. Parra,MIL(4-8,6.42 ERA) |
| Thursday @ 2:05PM EST – Martin,WAS(0-1,7.50 ERA) vs. Gallardo,MIL(9-7,3.09 ERA) |
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