Gameday: Giants (51-41) at Phillies (41-52)

San Francisco Giants (51-41) at Philadelphia Phillies (41-52)

Tim Lincecum (3-10, 5.93) vs. Vance Worley (5-5, 3.47)

Time: 7:05, Citizens Bank Park
TV: PHL 17, MLBN
Weather: Thunderstorms, 73
Media: Twitter and Facebook

The Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park to face the San Francisco Giants, who are currently in first place in the National League West. The Dodgers will throw a lot of good pitching at the Phillies throughout this series.

This isn’t the same Tim Lincecum who won two Cy Young Awards.  Lincecum has had a poor season thus far, holding an ERA that is approaching six.  He has a 1.52 WHIP and opponents are batting .262 against him.  His struggles have occurred on the road, where he is 1-6 with a 9.00 ERA.  The one thing that is still there for Lincecum is his strikeout totals.  In 104.2 innings, Lincecum has 115 punch-outs.  Lincecum is 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA in his career against Philadelphia.

Vance Worley is coming off a solid outing against the Rockies.  Worley has been reliable for the Phillies all season.  He has been expected to provide the Phillies with quality starts.  The biggest question in this series will be the Phillies’ offense against the tough Giant pitching and the bullpen, including Jonathan Papelbon.

The Phillies and Giants always seem to have interesting series.  Since 2007, the Phillies are 18-19 against San Francisco.  The games tend to be close.

Your gameday beer: Harp Lager

I was never crazy about the newredesign–I preferred the old blue-and-cream label to the new electric green. This one recalls nothing so much as Bud Light Lime. However, I’ve always been crazy about the taste of this lager, which is lighter and than Yuengling without giving up anything in terms of taste, hoppiness, or machismo. –by Michael

GO PHILLIES!