Phillies vs. Diamondbacks

4:10 PM EST at Chase Field

Ashburn Alley blows away Chase Field's stupid pool

Kyle Kendrick will take the mound in Arizona tonight against Diamondbacks’ pitcher Rodrigo Lopez (1-0, 3.50 ERA). The Phils look to take the series despite the handful of injuries that have developed as of late.

The lineup will be the most abnormal (and probably weakest) that we’ve seen all season. Thanks to Delco Times beat writer, Ryan Lawrence -

1. Ross Gload (Right Field)
2. Greg Dobbs (Third)
3. Chase Utley
4. Ryan Howard
5. Jayson Werth (Center)
6. Raul Ibanez
7. Wilson Valdez (Shortstop)
8. Carlos Ruiz
9. Kyle Kendrick

Interesting to see that despite all the injuries and call ups, Charlie doesn’t want to move Carlos up in the order. His OBP this year is over .400.

Thursday, August 20th

Phillies 12, Diamondbacks 3

It’s hard to  find anything wrong about the Phillies’ three-game sweep of the hapless Diamondbacks.

Excellent starting pitching? Check.

Stellar defense? Check.

Well-rested bullpen ? Check.

Home runs, home runs and more home runs? Check.

Beating up the teams you should? Check.

Hitting with runners in scoring position? Yup… check that, too.

It was just about a perfect three-game homestand for the Phils, who finished it off with a 12-3 rout.

Joe Blanton, plagued by lack of run support over the last month, received a boatload of it Thursday night. The Phils jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the D-Backs  scratched out a few hits and eventually tied the game in hte fourth inning.

The Phillies would score nine unanswered runs.

Jayson Werth has been on another one of his tears. He finished 2-for-4 with  his 28th homer of the year. Werth has hit .368 (7-for-19) with five homers and seven RBIs in the past five games. 

Ryan Howard went 2-for-4 with his 32nd roundtripper of the year and he has six homers in his last last games.

 Shane Victorino added a run-scoring double and Chase Utley contributed an RBI hit. Carlos Ruiz went yard, as well.

Oh, by the way, Blanton (8-6, 3.86 ERA) settled down after a shaky first few innings to pitch eight strong frames. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start since June.

The Phillies go from playing the AL West’s fourth-place club to the NL East’s four-place team, the Mets, for the start of a four-game series at Citi Field.

Player of the Game

Jayson Werth

Phillies vs. Diamondbacks

7:05 p.m. EST at Citizens Bank Park

Joe Blanton’s (7-6, 3.88 ERA) record doesn’t show how good he’s been this season.

Blanton has been starved of run support in recent outings. In his last three starts, Blanton is 0-2 with a 2.61 ERA and the offense has scored no more than three runs in each of those games.

Joe Blanton (7-6, 3.88 ERA)

In his last start, Blanton scattered seven hits and allowed two runs in a no-decision against the

Doug Davis (7-10, 3.59 ERA)

Braves. The burly right-hander surrendered eight runs over three innings in his only career start against Arizona.

Doug Davis (7-10, 3.59 ERA)  is 2-1 lifetime against the Phillies with a 3.13 ERA. The crafty left-hander is unbeaten in his last five times out for the D-Backs, who riding a four-game losing streak.

Wednesday, August 19th

Phillies 8, Diamondbacks 1

Cliff Lee’s pitching line: 9 IP, 2 Hs, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB  11 Ks.

Ho-hum.

Lee (11-9, 2.72 ERA) again showed why he is a true ace.

Actually, Jayson Werth put it best when he said “(Lee’s) a for real ace.”

Yup.

Lee improved to 4-0 with a ridiculous 0.82 ERA as a Phillie. For the second time in those four starts, Lee pitched into the sixth inning with a no-hitter. Chad Tracy slapped a single up the middle with one out in the frame to break up the no-no.

Pedro Feliz’s error in the fourth led to Arizona’s lone run.

Since his arrival, Lee has allowed no more than one run in each of his four starts. He has struck out 34, allowed only 18 hits and opposing batters are hitting .161 against him.

He’s doing what C.C. Sabathia did for the Brewers last year… but better.

Offensively, the Phillies got to Dan Haren. Chase Utley hit a two-run homer to dead center field in the third inning, Ryan Howard’s three-run shot to left field in the fifth made it 5-1 and Jayson Werth followed immediately with a solo blast to center field.

Haren (12-8, 2.74) was rocked for six runs on nine hits over five innings.

Werth homered later in the game for his 27th of the year.

Player of the Game

Jayson Werth... because it's not fair to the other 24 guys on the roster when Cliff Lee pitches.

Phillies vs. Diamondbacks

7:05 p.m. EST at Citizens Bank Park

Cliff Lee opposes Dan Haren in one of the best pitching match ups of 2009.

Lee has been lights out since being acquired by the Phillies in late July. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner is 3-0 with a miniscule 1.13 ERA in three starts as a Phillie.

Cliff Lee (10-9, 2.86 ERA)

Lee put forth a strong eight-inning, eight-strikeout performance in Chicago last week. He has

Dan Haren (12-7, 2.50 ERA)

struck out 24 and opponents are hitting .193 against him since the trade.

Behind their new ace, the Phillies look clinch a series victory over the Diamondbacks for the second time this year. Tuesday night, Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz homered while Jamie Moyer pitched six masterful innings of relief  en route to a 5-1 win.

Haren allowed one run on six hits in eight innings of work last time out against the Dodgers. The Arizona ace had struggled over his previous four outings before earning a victory against Los Angeles.

Tuesday, August 18th

Phillies 5, Diamondbacks 1

Jamie Moyer (10-9) pitched six spotless innings in relief to lead the Phillies to victory in Game 1 of the three-game series.

Moyer, making his first relief appearance since 2004, came in for Pedro Martinez, whose outing was shortened due to a one-hour rain delay. Moyer yielded only two hits with five strikeouts and went the distance after entering the game in the fourth inning.

Martinez pitched the game’s first three inning.

Aside from a homer off the bat of Stephen Drew to start the game, Pedro looked strong…

Jayson Werth finished with two hits, including his career-high 25th home run of the season. Carlos Ruiz was 3-for-5 with a homer, Shane Victorino added two base knocks, Pedro Martinez contributed an RBI single and Chase Utley reached base four times.

Arizona starter Jon Garland (6-11) surrendered all five runs.

Player of the Game

Jamie Moyer

Phillies vs. Diamondbacks

7:05 p.m. EST at Citizens Bank Park

After a solid, but not strong, outing in his season debut, Pedro Martinez makes his first start at Citizens Bank Park . Obviously, the Phillies hope that Martinez can build on his five-inning, 99-pitch outing against the Cubs last week.

For what it’s worth, Martinez has been nearly untouchable in home debuts with the Expos (1993), Red Sox (1998) and Mets (2005). He tends to make a good first impression on his new ground.

However, Martinez has an ERA above 7.00 in four career starts at CBP.

Pedro Martinez (1-0, 5.40 ERA)

The Phillies (66-49, 1st place NL East) are back home for three games after winning five of six on the road.

Ryan Howard has four home runs in as many games.

Jon Garland has been a solid addition for the D-Backs (54-65, 4th place NL West), who acquired the veteran

Jon Garland (6-10, 4.28 ERA)

right-hander via free agency in the offseason. He allowed three runs — two earned — over six innings in his last start, a loss against the Mets.

Phun Fact - The last time Martinez pitched in Philadelphia was in August 2008 for the Mets. In that game, the Mets blew a 7-0 lead and Martinez couldn’t make it past the sixth inning. The Phils won in extra innings on an RBI hit by Chris Coste.

The Phillies were shut out in Wednesday’s series finale in Arizona, 4-0.

J.A. Happ was a tough-luck loser, pitching six strong innings of two-run ball. The only mistake he made was allowing a two-run homer off the bat of Justin Upton in the first.

The Phils had a huge chance in the top of the seventh inning. Ryan Howard got on base to lead off the inning, and Raul Ibanez hit a shot to center fielder Chris Young, who misplayed the hop and the ball squirted by him. With runners on second and third base and nobody out, the Phils couldn’t produce at the plate.

The Phillies also left runners on first and third in the eighth inning.

Shane Victorino left the game in the eighth inning with a right knee contusion. His status for tomorrow’s series opener against the Giants is to be determined.