Hamels, Phillies set sights on Manny-less Dodgers
Hamels, Phillies set sights on Manny-less Dodgers
Pitching has been a huge problem for Charlie Manuel in Philadelphia this season, and today he turns to his young ace Cole Hamels to stem the bleeding and win the series from the Dodgers.
Six down and 44 games to go for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they begin their second week of action without slugger Manny Ramirez.
The Dodgers (23-12, +8.55 units) picked up just their second win in six games since Ramirez was suspended last Thursday (May 7), with James Loney fueling the offense with three hits and four RBI in a 9-2 rout over Philadelphia last night. While a lot of attention is on the LA offense without Manny, the bats have been pretty potent so far in his absence plating 35 runs in the six games. In three of those games, the group has scored at least eight runs.
Philadelphia (16-15, -3.00) comes into today's matinee performance in rough shape after last night's loss left them with just two wins in their last seven tries. Jamie Moyer, looking for his 250th career win, was tagged for seven of the nine Dodgers runs in Wednesday's loss. Phillies pitchers now boast a 5.42 ERA, second-worst in the NL, with Brett Myers' 4.81 mark tops on the starting staff.
The pitching woes aren't just in the Philadelphia rotation. After a fantastic season in 2008, closer Brad Lidge is off to a rocky beginning to the 2009 season with an 8.56 ERA. He's given up six earned in his last four appearances, failing to hold the opposition scoreless in any of those four games, and his control is escaping him with eight walks in his last 10 innings of work.
For today's rubber game, the Dodgers will send out Chad Billingsley (6-1, 2.45) who is off his first and only loss of year, a 7-3 defeat to the Giants in LA last Friday. The righthander still has not allowed more than three runs in any start, and has pitched at least six innings in all seven outings.
The Phils knocked him around and then some in two NLCS games last October, scoring 11 runs (10 earned) in five innings over two starts against Billingsley. He also lost in Philadelphia in the regular season a year ago, though they beat the Phillies twice with Billingsley on the hill in 2007.
Cole Hamels (2-3, 6.17) will take the hill for Philly after picking up his first and only win of the season last Friday. The southpaw was sharp in his six innings of work in a 10-6 win over the Braves. A bit fragile in the early going, Hamels has pitched pretty well since the opening two shellings. For a guy that's been hurting, he's got 17 strikeouts and four walks in his last 13.2 innings.
Hamels pitched the Phils to a pair of wins over LA in the NLCS last season. He's made four career starts vs. the Dodgers, all in 2008, and is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA, having pitched seven innings in each of the four starts and never allowed more than two runs.
The weather may not be the greatest today in Philadelphia. Temps should reach the low-70s, but there's a 30% chance of rain this afternoon and increasing as the day goes by. The forecast also calls for some strong winds in the 20-30 MPH range out of the South. That's straight out to center, fans.
Behind the mask for the 1:05 p.m. (ET) first pitch should be Jeff Nelson who has so far favored the home team by a 4-2 margin as well as the Over by a 5-1 count. This is a getaway game for the umpires as well as the teams, so with the threatening weather we might see Nelson widen that strike zone of his just a little.
At a -120 to -125 price, the Phillies with Hamels look very inviting over the Dodgers without Manny. But I like the Over 8½ even more, especially if you can get it at even money or better. Yeah, I know, Hamels and Billingsley are both exceptional pitchers and easily capable of shutting the opposing offenses down. Still, with Billingsley's recent history against the Phillies, the wind blowing out, Los Angeles bats doing fine so far without Ramirez and Nelson behind the plate, it adds up to an Over to me.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com
Pitching has been a huge problem for Charlie Manuel in Philadelphia this season, and today he turns to his young ace Cole Hamels to stem the bleeding and win the series from the Dodgers.
Six down and 44 games to go for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they begin their second week of action without slugger Manny Ramirez.
The Dodgers (23-12, +8.55 units) picked up just their second win in six games since Ramirez was suspended last Thursday (May 7), with James Loney fueling the offense with three hits and four RBI in a 9-2 rout over Philadelphia last night. While a lot of attention is on the LA offense without Manny, the bats have been pretty potent so far in his absence plating 35 runs in the six games. In three of those games, the group has scored at least eight runs.
Philadelphia (16-15, -3.00) comes into today's matinee performance in rough shape after last night's loss left them with just two wins in their last seven tries. Jamie Moyer, looking for his 250th career win, was tagged for seven of the nine Dodgers runs in Wednesday's loss. Phillies pitchers now boast a 5.42 ERA, second-worst in the NL, with Brett Myers' 4.81 mark tops on the starting staff.
The pitching woes aren't just in the Philadelphia rotation. After a fantastic season in 2008, closer Brad Lidge is off to a rocky beginning to the 2009 season with an 8.56 ERA. He's given up six earned in his last four appearances, failing to hold the opposition scoreless in any of those four games, and his control is escaping him with eight walks in his last 10 innings of work.
For today's rubber game, the Dodgers will send out Chad Billingsley (6-1, 2.45) who is off his first and only loss of year, a 7-3 defeat to the Giants in LA last Friday. The righthander still has not allowed more than three runs in any start, and has pitched at least six innings in all seven outings.
The Phils knocked him around and then some in two NLCS games last October, scoring 11 runs (10 earned) in five innings over two starts against Billingsley. He also lost in Philadelphia in the regular season a year ago, though they beat the Phillies twice with Billingsley on the hill in 2007.
Cole Hamels (2-3, 6.17) will take the hill for Philly after picking up his first and only win of the season last Friday. The southpaw was sharp in his six innings of work in a 10-6 win over the Braves. A bit fragile in the early going, Hamels has pitched pretty well since the opening two shellings. For a guy that's been hurting, he's got 17 strikeouts and four walks in his last 13.2 innings.
Hamels pitched the Phils to a pair of wins over LA in the NLCS last season. He's made four career starts vs. the Dodgers, all in 2008, and is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA, having pitched seven innings in each of the four starts and never allowed more than two runs.
The weather may not be the greatest today in Philadelphia. Temps should reach the low-70s, but there's a 30% chance of rain this afternoon and increasing as the day goes by. The forecast also calls for some strong winds in the 20-30 MPH range out of the South. That's straight out to center, fans.
Behind the mask for the 1:05 p.m. (ET) first pitch should be Jeff Nelson who has so far favored the home team by a 4-2 margin as well as the Over by a 5-1 count. This is a getaway game for the umpires as well as the teams, so with the threatening weather we might see Nelson widen that strike zone of his just a little.
At a -120 to -125 price, the Phillies with Hamels look very inviting over the Dodgers without Manny. But I like the Over 8½ even more, especially if you can get it at even money or better. Yeah, I know, Hamels and Billingsley are both exceptional pitchers and easily capable of shutting the opposing offenses down. Still, with Billingsley's recent history against the Phillies, the wind blowing out, Los Angeles bats doing fine so far without Ramirez and Nelson behind the plate, it adds up to an Over to me.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com
