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NL East Series Preview 7-3-09 to 7-5-09
Filed Under (NL East Chatter, Series Preview) by mrose at 1:45 PM on 07-03-2009
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| The Philadelphia Phillies are reeling, and the New York Mets aren’t exactly lighting up the ball field either. The Phillies have gone 4-14 in their past eighteen games. During those same eighteen games since a matchup between the two, the Mets are 7-11 actually allowing them to gain ground on the Phillies. The Phillies(39-37, 1st in NL East) are fresh off a series sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, and have now lost five of their past six series including three series sweeps by opposing teams. The hitting has been mostly horrendous, including a long slump by Jimmy Rollins, which Phillies fans hope was broken last night. The pitching isn’t much better, as Ryan Madson hasn’t seemed himself since being placed into the closers role when Lidge was on the DL. Matt at Phillies Phandom discusses some other stats and issues today. Be sure to stop by Phillies Phandom for all your Phillies resources. The New York Mets(39-39, 3rd Place in NL East 1GB) are certainly not looking much better, but they have at least won two games in a row. The Mets were in a five game losing streak to the Yankees and Brewers before Pelfrey pitched a gem on Wednesday and the offense didn’t give up on Thursday against the Brewers and Pirates. They now hope that their injury ravaged team can help them out when they visit the City of Brotherly Love for three games. TRDMB takes a look at Rodrigo Lopez the spot starter for the Phils, in for the injured Antonio Bastardo who was in for the injured Brett Myers. Make sure to go to and bookmark The Real Dirty Mets Blog for all Mets news and info. One thing with this series is that no one knows what will happen, as is usually the case when these two teams meet. Probable pitchers and times are below. |
| Friday @ 7:05PM EST – Hernandez,NYM(5-3,4.04 ERA) vs. Lopez,PHI(0-0,0.00 ERA) |
| Saturday @ 4:05PM EST – Nieve,NYM(3-1,2.25 ERA) vs. Moyer,PHI(6-6,6.05 ERA) |
| Sunday @ 1:35PM EST -Santana,NYM(9-6,3.34 ERA) vs. Blanton,PHI(4-4,5.08 ERA) |
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| The streaky Florida Marlins(41-39, 1st Place in NL East) will welcome in the Pittsburgh Pirates to Landshark Stadium this weekend. The Marlins have recently been through a five game winning streak, followed by a three game losing streak, then continued with their current three game winning streak. They will hope to continue that streak against the Pirates this weekend. The Marlins moved into a virtual first place tie last night when the Phillies lost, this is the latest the Marlins have been in first place in a season, and they have won two world series, think they appreciate the wildcard? Hanley Ramirez will also look to continue his 10 game RBI streak when the Buccos come in this weekend.
The Pirates(36-43, 6th in the NL Central, 6GB) are 5-5 in their last ten games and are seven games under .500 after yesterday’s loss to the Mets. Still, they are only six games out of first in another very competitive division, so they certainly are nothing to take lightly. The Pirates made two deals this week, including sending their pesky lead-off man Nyjer Morgan to the NL East Rival Nationals for former Met Lastings Milledge. |
| Friday @ 6:10PM EST – Morton,PIT(0-1,4.09 ERA) vs. Volstad,FLA(5-7,4.63 ERA) |
| Saturday @ 6:10PM EST-Duke,PIT(8-6,3.13 ERA) vs. Miller,FLA(2-4,4.45 ERA) |
| Sunday @ 1:10PM EST-Ohlendorf,PIT(7-6,4.41 ERA) vs. Nolasco,FLA(5-6,5.99 ERA) |
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| The Atlanta Braves have now won four in a row, capped off by the series sweep of the division leading Phillies. The Braves(38-40 4th in NL East 2GB) have put themselves right back into the NL East race, along with three other teams with the streak. In the past few days, they have showcased their starting pitching, including young Tommy Hanson who will pitch again this weekend looking to stay perfect. The bullpen, mainly Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez have been very solid in securing leads late in games or giving the team a chance to score late in a game to win. More Braves news can be found at The Braves Baseball Blog.
The Nationals(22-54 5th in NL East 17GB) are now 2-8 in their last ten and it seems like years ago since they had won four in a row versus the AL East giant Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. The Nats are fresh off a series sweep by the Marlins in Miami, and they look to find that winning combination they had against the Yankees and Blue Jays just a few weeks ago. The rumors of Manny Acta seem long gone now though, so maybe Acta sleeps well at night, for now.You can find Nats news at CenterfieldGate.com Probably pitchers and game times are listed below: |
| Friday @ 6:35PM EST-Kawakami,ATL(4-6,4.25 ERA) vs. Detwiler,WAS(0-4,5.24 ERA) |
| Saturday @ 1:05PM EST-Hanson,ATL(4-0,2.48 ERA) vs. Lannan,WAS(5-5,3.45 ERA) |
| Sunday @ 1:35PM EST – Lowe,ATL(7-6,4.44 ERA) vs. Olsen,WAS(1-4,6.56 ERA) |
This should be a great weekend of National League East Baseball, please be sure to check back to NLEC or the team affiliate blog frequently!
If interested in helping the NLEC, please contact mrose@nleastchatter.com
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