Philadelphia Phillies (36-40) vs. San Diego Padres (38-38)
Cliff Lee (9-2, 2.53 ERA) vs. Eric Stults (6-5, 3.25 ERA)
TIME: 10:10 ET (7:10 PT)
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Weather: 70, mostly sunny
The Phillies will turn to their ace tonight to try to take game one of a three game series against the Padres, which also kicks off a nine game road trip. The Phillies are down to four games under .500 and have lost three of their last four, including a dismal blowout/shutout at the hands of the Mets yesterday.
The good news for the staggering Phillies is that Cliff Lee is on the hill, and he has been unstoppable of late. Lee has won seven straight decisions and the Phillies have won eighth of the last nine games he started. Lee has allowed just two runs in each of his last two outings, and has walked only one batter while striking out 15 over that span.
Opposing Lee is the fellow southpaw Eric Stults, who has pitched very well for the Padres this season. In his last three starts he is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.61. He has only had one career start against the Phillies, and he was chased from the game early after allowing four runs in the first three innings.
Ryan Howard has been on a tear lately, hitting .476 in the last week with three home runs, but he is not in the lineup against the lefty Stults tonight due to a sore knee. Domonic Brown moves up to the clean-up spot and the red-hot Frandsen gets the nod at first. Here is the rest of the lineup tonight.
Lineup: Rollins SS, Utley 2B, M. Young 3B, Brown LF, Frandsen 1B, D. Young RF, Mayberry CF, Ruiz C, Lee P
Gameday Beer: Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier
This strange beer brings out the classic blackberry flavor with hints of citrus. The blackberry flavor is fairly strong and very unique, especially paired with the fact that it is not brewed with traditional hops, but with coriander instead. When the team isn’t going too well maybe it is time to shake things up and try something unconventional.
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