Series Preview: Dodgers at Phillies

The red-hot Phillies, still with baseball’s worst record at 41-65, but having won 12 of 15 since the All-Star break, welcome the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers (60-45) for a 3-game set in the cozy confines of Citizens Bank Park. The Dodgers have ripped off four straight victories, opening up a 2.5 games lead over the 2nd place San Francisco Giants.

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Los Angeles made national waves at last week’s MLB trade deadline by taking part in super 3-way trade with the Braves and Marlins. The Dodgers picked up pitchers Alex Wood, Bronson Arroyo, Luis Avilan, and Jim Johnson, 2nd base prospect Jose Peraza, and cash while sending Hector Olivera, Paco Rodriguez, and Zachary Bird to the Braves. LA also received Mat Latos, Michael Morse, and cash from Miami in the deal while sending Victor Araujo, Jeff Brigham, and Kevin Guzman to the Fish.

The Dodgers came away from this deal with a much improved rotation by adding Latos and Wood. Unfortunately for the Phils, they will have to face the young, unorthodox Wood tonight. They did catch a break in that they will not have to face the hottest pitcher in the game, Clayton Kershaw, who is working on a consecutive scoreless innings streak that has stretched to 37 innings.

Of course this series marks the return of one of the all-time Phillies franchise greats in Jimmy Rollins. Having gone through a few ups and downs some fans who knocked his hustle during his years in the City of Brotherly Love, Rollins is still expected to receive a very warm welcome from the Philly Phaithful.

“JRoll” has struggled with his new team, hitting only .216 with 11 homers and 33 RBI. He will certainly be juiced to play in front of his old fans. The Phillies brought out the best in him earlier this season when he had a fantastic series (5-15, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R) against them at Dodgers Stadium. No matter what happens, it should be fun to have Jimmy back at The Bank for a few days.

The Dodgers offense comes in ranked right at 15th, middle of the pack in MLB, with 436 runs produced. That offensive attack has been led by 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez (.293/.369/.532, 21 HR, 61 RBI), 3rd baseman Justin Turner (.323/.387/.563, 13 HR, 44 RBI), and catcher Yasmani Grandal (.292/.400/.514). Turner will miss the series, having been sent to the DL with an infection.

The Phillies, despite dropping the finale of a 4-game set vs the Braves in their last outing on Sunday, remain the hottest team in the game. Their incredible recent play places them just 2 games behind the Marlins for 4th place, and 7 behind those Braves for 3rd place.

With the Rockies and Brewers also very much in reach in the standings, the Phils have begun to seriously threaten losing control of the top overall pick in next year’s MLB Amateur Draft, something that seemed a foregone conclusion just a few weeks ago.

The Phillies’ enjoyable hot stretch is largely due in part to an improved offense. The Phils rank 10th overall in runs scored since the All-Star Break (80), and since mid-June have been averaging 5 runs per game. Leading this charge are rookie 3rd baseman Maikel Franco (.283/.340/.483, 11 HR, 40 RBI), speedy Rule 5 center fielder Odubel Herrera (.282/.311/.422, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 9 SB), and rejuvenated veteran 1st baseman Ryan Howard (.241/.292/.464, 18 HR, 60).

With both teams playing some of their best baseball entering play on Tuesday night, this series could be a fun one to watch.

PITCHING MATCHUPS:

Jerome Williams (3-8, 6.36 ERA) v. Alex Wood (7-6, 3.54 ERA) – In two starts since his return from the DL, Williams has allowed 7 earned runs and 16 hits over 10.2 innings pitched. Williams has done little to show that he improved from the pitcher he was before going on the DL. It would certainly not be a stretch to expect another middling start from the veteran righty. Newly acquired lefty Wood will look to make a strong first impression to his Dodgers teammates when he takes the hill tonight. In his final start for the Braves, Wood was dominant over Baltimore (7.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 SO). He’ll be hoping to do the same to the Phillies as he looks to garner the respect and confidence of his new teammates.

Aaron Harang (5-11, 3.97 ERA) v. Brett Anderson (5-6, 3.14 ERA) – Harang skipped his DL rehab from plantar fasciitis to return to the Phils last week in the immediate aftermath of the Cole Hamels trade, and the veteran righty put together a solid outing (5 IP, 1 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 1 SO). If Harang continues to progress, he himself could be a waiver period trade target for a team looking for some veteran starting pitching. For now, Harang shouldn’t get too caught up in maintaining his trade value, but rather just go out and try to pitch to his career level. He’ll be opposed by Anderson, who pitched well in his return (7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 SO) from his own minor Achilles injury. Anderson will look to build off that solid return and continue what has been a solid season for the southpaw.

David Buchanan (2-5, 6.44 ERA) v. Zack Greinke (10-2, 1.41 ERA) – After a short stint back in Triple-A, Buchanan delivered one of his best starts of the season (7.1 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 4 SO) in his last outing. Now that he appears to be here to stay, Buchanan can pitch with much more confidence. He’ll definitely need every ounce of it against Greinke, one of the best in the game. Greinke’s incredible scoreless streak ended at 45.2 innings last week. Even though the streak is gone, Greinke as still allowed just 4 earned runs in his last 15 innings over 2 starts. Greinke looks like a strong bet to dominate the Phils in the series finale.

SERIES KEYS:

Positive Energy – Since returning from the MLB All-Star break, the Phillies have been playing with a revamped energy that has led to a bunch of wins. They’ve played noticeably looser and with a lot more fight under interim skipper Pete Mackanin, even through all the trade deadline action. Should the Phils want to continue their impressive winning ways, they can’t let the positive energy they have been experiencing fade away.

Rotation Must Step Up – On the surface and based on the statistics, the Phillies are overmatched in every pitching matchup in this series. They’ll need their starting pitchers to hold down the fort as best they can, while an improved offense does its best to chip away. The Phillies pen’ has been doing a good job of late, so as long as the starters get fairly deep into games, the Phillies will have a shot.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

Tuesday: 7:05PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210FM, 94AM, 1680 (Sp.)

Wednesday: 7:05PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210FM, 94AM, 1680 (Sp.)

Thursday: 1:05PM, TV: NBC10, MLBN, Radio: 1210FM, 94AM, 1680 (Sp.)

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE forecast for Citizens Bank Park in South Philly

This Afternoon

Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Southwest wind around 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. West wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 90. West wind 5 to 14 mph.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 67. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday

A chance of showers after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.