Series Preview: Blue Jays at Phillies

After getting swept in Milwaukee, the Phillies (46-72) return home to take on the red-hot Toronto Blue Jays (65-54), a team who made significant additions just before and after the MLB trade deadline, as covered today by Tyler DiSalle here at TBOH.

The Jays just lost a series to their top division rivals, the New York Yankees, but have won 15 of their last 18 games, a stretch that began the second time they played the Phillies in Toronto. With that tremendous run, the Jays are now just one game back of the Yanks for the AL East lead.

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A significant reason for Toronto’s success is that they hold baseball’s top-ranked offense with 622 runs scored. The Blue Jays’ offense is headed by All-Star 3rd baseman Josh Donaldson (.292/.361/.560, 31 HR, 87 RBI), slugging 1st baseman Edwin Encarnacion (.255/.350/.479, 21 HR, 65 RBI), and powerful outfielder Jose Bautista (.242/.358/.519, 28 HR, 82 RBI). Our old friend Ben Revere has struggled in his first 15 games with the Jays (.216/.241/.235, 1 RBI, 5 runs scored).

The Phillies, on the other hand, appear to coming back to Earth, having lost 5 of their last 6. They are coming off 3 straight losses over the weekend to the Brewers, another team among the league’s worst.

The Phillies’ offense is struggling once again, able to muster just 4 runs in the three games up in Milwaukee. Leading the charge for the offense on the season are outfielder Odubel Herrera (.288/.318/.425, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 13 SB), shortstop Freddy Galvis (.269/.307/.349, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 7 SB), and 1st baseman Ryan Howard (.235/.283/.446, 19 HR, 65 RBI).

This series features two teams trending in the opposite direction, so the Phillies may find that their struggles will continue.

PITCHING MATCHUPS:

Aaron Nola (3-1, 4.25 ERA) v. R.A. Dickey (7-10, 3.96 ERA) – Nola comes into this start after having the worst outing of his young career (5 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 2 SO). Nola will almost definitely pitch with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after three straight mediocre starts. He’d love a game similar to his strong MLB debut against Tampa Bay. His opponent, Dickey, has been solid once again this year. Dickey is in the midst of a nice August (3 starts, 20 IP, 4 ER) and would love for that to continue. The Phils will have to do the best they can to solve his tricky knuckleball.

Adam Morgan (3-4, 4.11 ERA) v. Mark Buehrle (13-5, 3.31 ERA) – Morgan once again kept the Phillies in the game on Friday night (6 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 SO), but it was not enough for a win. The rookie lefty will try to change his luck and find a fourth victory on Wednesday, but will not have it easy against Buerhle. The veteran has been terrific for Toronto this season. Buehrle has been very consistent; turning in a relatively solid start nearly every outing. He has now produced three straight starts in which he’s gone 7 innings and allowed three or less earned runs. Look for more of the same from the veteran left-hander.

SERIES KEYS:

Production from the offense – Toronto has baseball’s top offense, and will probably put pressure on inexperienced rookies Nola and Morgan. In order for the Phillies to have a shot in this series, they’ll need to back their young pitchers up with some runs. It won’t be easy against tough veteran pitchers Dickey and Buehrle, but it needs to be done.

Get Franco back – This will remain a key until the Phillies’ star rookie 3rd baseman returns. The Phillies clearly could have used his bat in Milwaukee, where they only managed to score 4 runs. Franco (.277/.340/.490, 13 HR, 48 RBI) could be headed toward a return tonight, wrote MLB.com’s Andrew Gruman on August 15^th. If Franco returns, that would be helpful in getting the production the Phillies need from their lineup to better compete with Toronto.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

Tuesday: 7:05 PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210 WPHT, 94 WIP, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)

Wednesday: 7:05 PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210 WPHT, 94 WIP, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE forecast for Citizens Bank Park in South Philly

Tonight

Isolated showers and thunderstorms between 1am and 4am, then isolated showers after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Wednesday

Isolated showers, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. South wind 5 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Wednesday Night

Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

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