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Lannan returns to kick off Phils' homestand

Two months after making his last start, John Lannan returns to pitch for the Phillies against the Nationals, with whom he made 134 starts from 2007-12. The Phils begin a six-game homestand Monday against the Nats and Mets.

A terrible 3-7 road trip dropped the Phils to 33-37, just as they were through 70 games last season. The only piece of good news is that the Phils still have 32 games remaining against Washington and Atlanta, the two teams directly ahead of them in the NL East. 

Tonight they'll face Dan Haren, who has a 5.70 ERA, has allowed 11.3 hits per nine and 17 homers in 72 2/3 innings. He's struggled with Washington, to say the least. Many expected him to find success in the NL, but back problems and just overall decline has rendered him a back-end starter. He's not the same guy with the devastating splitter. 

If there's ever a night for Ryan Howard to break his home run drought, it's tonight. Howard has homered one time in his last 33 games (130 plate appearances). He is 75th in baseball in slugging, at .440, behind guys like Marco Scutaro and David DeJesus. Over his last 136 games, Howard has a .302 on-base percentage, 21 homers and 90 RBI. Over his previous 136, he had a .347 OBP, 30 HR and 101 RBI.

It doesn't seem like it, but Ben Revere has been very, very good since May 1. His .321 batting average over that span is third among all major-league centerfielders. Only Mike Trout (.333) and Andrew McCutchen (.323) are ahead of him.

Phillies lineup

1) Ben Revere, CF 
2) Michael Young, 3B
3) Jimmy Rollins, SS
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Domonic Brown, LF (1 RBI last 7 games)
6) Delmon Young, RF 
7) Kevin Frandsen, 2B (.326 BA in 95 games with Phillies)
8) Humberto Quintero, C
9) John Lannan, P 

Horst hits DL

To make room on the 25-man roster for Lannan, the Phillies placed struggling lefty reliever Jeremy Horst on the 15-day DL with an elbow strain. Horst has allowed 47 baserunners in 26 innings this season. The man needs some time off.

Hamels' unlucky season continues in loss to Rockies

Cole Hamels' frustration level has to be boiling at an all-time high.

Another chapter was added to the lefty's 2013 nightmare as Hamels hurled his 11th quality start of the season, but the offense -- like all year -- offered him feeble support in the Phillies' 5-2 loss to the Rockies on Sunday.

The Phillies (33-37) finished 3-7 in their 10-game road trip, losing series to Milwaukee (28-40), Minnesota (30-36) and Colorado (37-33).

Hamels took the mound on Sunday and gave the Phillies a terrific chance to end their dreadful road trip on a positive note, but the pitcher with baseball's fifth-worst run support saw more of the same from his offense.

Hamels went seven innings and allowed three runs. At one point, he retired 13 straight. In the seventh inning, Hamels endured more misfortune.

Carlos Gonzalez reached base with a leadoff single. Hamels then thought he had the next batter, Michael Cuddyer, struck out on an 0-2 pitch, but home plate umpire Marvin Hudson called it a ball. Hamels, similar to his last start, showed his displeasure and the inning only got worse. On the next pitch, Cuddyer dumped a bloop double down the right-field line before a dribbling ground out and a double plated Colorado's next two runs in the irritating frame for Hamels, who hollered at Hudson his entire walk to the dugout after he finally retired the side.

You wonder if the Phillies' inexplicable performance at the plate had Hamels' anger already kicked up a few notches before the seventh.

The bats were incredibly impatient on Sunday and it looked as if the Phillies had no plans on making Colorado starter Jhoulys Chacin work for his victory. The Rockies' righty went 8 2/3 innings in an easy 86 pitches, and for just the second time this season, Chacin went a start without walking a batter.

The right-hander came in with a 6.13 ERA over his last eight starts, but he fell just one out shy from blanking the Phillies, who scored a couple of runs with two outs in the ninth inning.

With the loss on Sunday, Hamels became the first Phillies pitcher since Kyle Abbott in 1992 to pick up his 10th defeat prior to the All-Star break. The Phillies are also a staggering 2-13 in games that he has started this season.

The Phillies now come back home and welcome division rival Washington (34-34) -- and do so with little-to-no momentum.

Here are the pitching matchups for the three-game series:

Monday -- John Lannan (0-1, 6.14) vs. Dan Haren (4-8, 5.70)

Tuesday -- Cliff Lee (8-2, 2.55) vs. Ross Detwiler (2-4, 3.02)

Wednesday -- Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 3.76) vs. Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.40)

Behind Hamels, Phils go for series win in Colorado

The Phillies have won every series they've played at Coors Field since 2008. Sunday, they'll go for the victory to cap off their 10-game road trip with a 4-6 record.

When Cole Hamels pitches, the Phillies are an unthinkable 2-12 this season. In the left-hander's 10 quality starts, the club has scored a combined 20 runs. Take away his two winning decisions, and the Phils have managed just nine runs in the other eight games.

But on the few occasions the Phillies have scored runs, Cole has been less than stellar. In his four games that weren't quality starts this season — he has 10.45 ERA in those contests — the Phillies have tallied 22 runs. So when Hamels pitches well they don't score, and when they do put up runs Hamels tends not to pitch well.

That trend has to change. Cliff Lee ran into similar luck last year when he began the season with an 0-5 record before he finally picked up his first win on July 4. The Phillies were 3-10 in games Lee started before his first win but went 9-8 the rest of the way.

Sunday against the Rockies, the Phillies should have a good chance to give Hamels his third win. Cole is 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA in six career starts vs. Colorado, although he is just 1-1 with a 5.09 ERA in three games at Coors Field.

The Phillies will be facing Jhoulys Chacin, a guy who is just 1-3 with a 6.13 ERA in eight starts since May began.

But Chacin has good lifetime stats against the Phils, with a 1-0 record and 1.21 ERA in five games (three starts) against them. And we've already seen mediocre pitchers like P.J. Walters and Jacob Turner cripple the offense in Hamels starts.

Here are the lineups:

Phillies:

1) Ben Revere, CF
2) Kevin Frandsen, 2B
3) Jimmy Rollins, SS
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Domonic Brown, LF
6) John Mayberry, RF
7) Freddy Galvis, 3B
8) Humberto Quintero, C
9) Cole Hamels, P

Phillies taken out early in loss to Rockies

The Phillies got off to a rocky start at Coors Field and could not recover in a 10-5 loss to Colorado.

Rookie Jonathan Pettibone allowed six runs in the first inning and one more in the second in a three-inning outing where he allowed 10 hits and a walk as he fell to 3-3.

In 11 starts, Pettibone has a 4.40 ERA and has been hit fairly hard in his last few outings. Called up from Triple-A when John Lannan was injured, Pettibone has been able to stick around with Lannan expected to make a start on Monday at home against the Nationals.

But with Pettibone next scheduled to start on Friday against the Mets, the Phillies could have some options. Will they allow Pettibone to make his next turn or call up veteran righty Carlos Zambrano to take the start instead.

Zambrano is scheduled to pitch again on Tuesday for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. If he suddenly is scratched from that start, chances are he's coming up to pitch for the Phillies.

Did the Phillies do anything well against the Rockies on Saturday afternoon? Ben Revere had three hits and he has 11 hits in his last four games to boost his batting average to .272. Also, Ryan Howard hit a pair of doubles in four at-bats.

Meanwhile, relievers Joe Savery, Justin De Fratus and Jake Diekman combined for four scoreless innings.

Next up, the Phillies send Cole Hamels (2-9, 4.45) to the mound against right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (4.3, 4.52) in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.

Ruiz back in action
In his first action since suffering a strained hamstring on May 21, catcher Carlos Ruiz went 0 for 2 in a rehab assignment for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday night.

Ruiz is scheduled to work out in Philadelphia on Monday and then will have two more rehab games with Double-A Reading on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Can rolling Phillies offense keep it up at Coors?

The Phillies rallied from down five runs on Friday to claim the opener of a three-game set in Colorado. The Phils scored eight runs and had 13 hits, giving them 29 and a .354 batting average in their last two games.

The bullpen worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings last night so Jon Pettibone (3-2, 3.70) will be asked to go deep. Pitching six innings this afternoon is a must; Pettibone's does it five times in 10 starts.

He'll do his best to avoid Carlos Gonzalez, who went 4-for-4 with a homer, a steal and a walk on Friday. Gonzalez, in 25 games against the Phillies including the 2009 NLDS, has hit .421 with 14 extra-base hits and a 1.111 OPS. Kyle Kendrick threw him a first-pitch fastball low and in he middle of the plate last night and CarGo took it out quickly to center. That is his power alley ... Kendrick missed his spot badly.

Colorado's lineup figures to be tougher on Saturday. Wilin Rosario and Dexter Fowler will likely be back.

With Cole Hamels on the mound tomorrow, today's game is very important. If the Phils can win Saturday they will have a great chance at a sweep that would not only end their road trip 5-5 but also get them back to .500 with the Nationals and Mets on tap.

Bench production

Kevin Frandsen started Friday and went 2-for-4, so while his contributions have been key to the Phillies' bench, they didn't count as such in the opener. Phillies pinch-hitters did go 3-for-3 with the game-winning RBI, however, and now lead the majors in pinch-hitting (.302 BA, 29 pinch-hits).

Frandsen, meanwhile, is up to .327/.387/.457 in 93 games with the Phillies. Every time he gets a chance to play, he hits.

Galvis' power display

Freddy Galvis' pair of two-run triples Friday gave him four on the season. He has four doubles, four triples, four homers and a slugging percentage seven points higher than Jimmy Rollins.

Phillies spurred by their biggest comeback of '13

The Phillies gave fans a flashback of old memories on Friday night.

How? A huge deficit was erased, the bullpen was tremendous and Jimmy Rollins showed his flair for the dramatic by capping off a resilient comeback in an entertaining 8-7 win by the Phillies over the Rockies.

Trailing 7-2 heading into the sixth inning, the Phillies (33-35) broke out for six runs over the next two frames to stun Colorado (35-33). Before Friday's shocker at Coors Field, the greatest margin the Phillies had overcome this season was two runs.

And a bonus, the beleaguered bullpen was excellent after Kyle Kendrick pitched his worst outing in 23 starts. In 4 1/3 innings, Kendrick allowed seven runs -- his most since Aug. 8 of last season. The Phillies' righty now has a 5.70 ERA in his last six starts.

But that was easily forgotten when Freddy Galvis hit a two-run triple in the sixth inning and a game-tying, two-run triple in the seventh with two outs to dig the Phillies out of a deep hole and into a 7-7 tie.

Rollins then came off the bench to pinch-hit for Humberto Quintero and propel the Phillies ahead by knocking in Galvis with a single. Rollins was not in the starting lineup because of a sore foot/hip, according to CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury.

A pair of young relievers (Jake Diekman, Justin De Fratus) and a pair of veteran relievers (Mike Adams, Jonathan Papelbon) preserved the Phillies' slim lead. Those four, combined with Michael Stutes and Jeremy Horst, pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

For Adams, it was his second consecutive scoreless inning. For Papelbon, it was his 13th save in as many opportunities while lowering his ERA to 1.46.

Galvis was just 1 for 22 on the Phillies' road trip prior to his game-changing triples.

And, don't look now, but the Phillies are a reasonable 6 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East, thanks to the Braves' four-game losing streak.

In hopes of extending the Phillies' recent string of good fortune, Jonathan Pettibone (3-2, 3.70) starts Saturday and opposes Tyler Chatwood (3-1, 2.14).

Phillies head to Coors to face banged-up Rockies

The Rockies have the best record (35-32) of any team the Phillies face this month, but they are now without Troy Tulowitzki and possibly Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler, as well.

Tulo broke a rib on Thursday and is out 4-6 weeks. He was in the top 5 in the NL in batting average, homers, RBIs and OPS. 

Gonzalez was struck by a foul ball while in the on-deck circle and left in pain. He's day-to-day with a left foot contusion. His left leg has had tendinitis since spring training.

Fowler also left Thursday's contest after being hit by a pitch. He's day-to-day, too.

The Phillies have played the Rockies well at Coors Field lately, winning 12 of their last 15. Their record against Colorado -- 90-62 -- is better than their record vs. any other team.

Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 3.22) goes tonight. He's allowed two runs or fewer in 9 of 13 starts this year, and 31 of his last 53 dating back to 2011.

He's opposed by Rockies righty Juan Nicasio (4-2, 4.61). Nicasio has a mid-90s fastball that goes a long way when it's hit. Opponents have five homers and 13 doubles off the pitch this season. 

The Phillies have never faced Nicasio, who for some reason pitches much better at Coors than away from it.

If Gonzalez does play, the Phillies must be extremely careful with him. He's a career .396/.427/.615 hitter against them in 24 games (including playoffs). He destroys pitches low-and-in, high in the zone and those that are outside but slightly elevated. He can, however, be tied up high-and-tight and low-and-away because of his awkward, closed batting stance.

If Ben Revere stays hot this could be a very productive offensive series for the Phillies, who had 16 hits last night but left 16 on base.

Revere is up to a season-high .266 after seven hits his last two games. He's hit .316 with a .360 OBP since May 1, and the Phillies are 10-5 in his last 15 multi-hit games.

Mercifully, Phillies snap five-game losing streak

Cliff Lee delivered, Ben Revere had four hits out of the leadoff spot and the back end of the bullpen finally held a lead to give the Phils their first win in a week, 3-2, over Minnesota.

Seven days ago, Lee was on the mound and blew an early 4-0 lead to start the Phillies on their season-worst losing skid. Thursday night against the Twins, he remedied that with a dominating seven-inning performance.

Lee cruised through six innings, facing the minimum — the lone hit he allowed to Joe Mauer in the fourth was erased by a double play. It wasn't until the seventh that he ran into trouble.

With the Phillies leading 1-0, Lee walked Mauer with one out. Ryan Doumit followed with an infield single — though replay showed he was out — to put men on first and second with one out. After Josh Willingham flew out to deep left field, Justin Morneau stroked a two-run double to left center to give the Twins a 2-1 advantage.

In the eighth, the Phillies fought back and retook the lead. Kevin Frandsen, pinch hitting for Humberto Quintero, led off with a double and Revere reached on a bunt single. Michael Young singled in the tying run and Jimmy Rollins knocked in the go-ahead with an RBI groundout.

Miraculously, Mike Adams held the lead in a stress-free, 1-2-3 eighth inning. It was just the third time in his last nine outings Adams tossed a scoreless frame. Jonathan Papelbon earned his 12th save and fanned two in a perfect ninth.

Ben Revere, leading off for the first time in seven contests, went 4 for 6 with a triple and two runs scored. Each time he scored was a result of good baserunning.

Ryan Howard was 3 for 5 with an RBI single in the first inning. Michael Young and Laynce Nix also had two hits apiece, and Domonic Brown snapped an 0-for-11 rough patch with a single in the third. The Phillies were just 4 for 16 with runners in scoring position and left an astonishing 16 men on base.

Lee finished with a line of two runs, three hits, six strikeouts and one walk over seven innings. He is now 7-0 when taking the mound with the Phillies in the midst of a losing streak this season.

Floundering Phils turn to streak-stopper Cliff Lee

When the Phillies are playing like this, it seems like they'll never win another game. They've followed five straight wins with five consecutive losses against crappy teams, and now they need to beat Minnesota just to end their 10-game stretch against the Marlins, Brewers and Twins with a .500 record.

Luckily, Cliff Lee is on the mound.

Lee is 7-2 with a 2.55 ERA this season, but he's saved his best work for when the Phils have needed it most. When the Phillies are on a losing streak, Lee is 6-0 with a 1.82 ERA.

He's made seven straight quality starts, holding the opposition to a .205 batting average. His WHIP over that span is 0.89.

He's opposed by Kevin Correia, another mediocre righty the Phillies have crushed. Correia has an 8.64 ERA and 2.24 WHIP against the Phils in 11 appearances (four starts). But Mike Pelfrey also had terrible career numbers against the Phils and they mustered just three runs on five hits over seven innings last night.

The roster has been shuffled a bit. Jake Diekman and Michael Martinez are up, Tyler Cloyd and Cesar Hernandez are down. It was also announced Thursday that John Lannan would be activated for a start next Monday against the Nationals, his former team.

The lineup was also switched up a bit. Ben Revere is back in the leadoff spot and Laynce Nix gets a rare start.

1) Ben Revere, CF
2) Michael Young, 3B
3) Jimmy Rollins, SS
4) Ryan Howard, 1B (.218/.270/.337, 1 HR last 29 games)
5) Domonic Brown, LF
6) Delmon Young, DH
7) Laynce Nix, RF (1-for-23 since May 9)
8) Freddy Galvis, 2B
9) Humberto Quintero, C

Bullpen caps off Phillies' longest losing streak of '13

On Wednesday night, a glaringly bad bullpen punctuated the Phillies’ worst stretch of the season in unraveling fashion.

The relief corps with baseball’s third-highest ERA (4.48) was incapable of securing the Phillies’ 3-1 lead as a late meltdown resulted in a 4-3 loss to the Twins (29-33).

After reeling off a season-best five straight wins, the Phillies (31-35) have now lost five straight.

The Phillies' recent 10-game span practically sums up their season to this point — good trumped by more bad.

The Phillies put up a 3-1 lead on Wednesday but multiple jams and lengthy innings ended starter Tyler Cloyd’s night after five innings, forcing plenty of weight on the shaky shoulders of the bullpen. Joe Savery allowed a run in the sixth inning. Then, Charlie Manuel showed renewed confidence in Antonio Bastardo after the lefty failed when called upon Tuesday night.

Bastardo redeemed himself by retiring Justin Morneau in the seventh with a man aboard and two outs, but the eighth was a different story. The left-hander remained in the game to face a pair of Minnesota lefties, Oswaldo Arcia and Clete Thomas, who greeted Bastardo with back-to-back doubles to tie the game. Eduardo Escobar followed with a sac bunt that turned into a bunt single, bringing in Justin De Fratus, who uncorked a wild pitch to let the go-ahead and eventual winning run score.

Among the majors, the Phillies ranked last in holds (15) entering Wednesday. Yes, even behind the Marlins (16). The bullpen’s recent letdown is a good indication why that is.

The Phillies received two-out RBIs from the struggling Delmon Young and Ben Revere. The bullpen, however, made that an afterthought.

Transaction
Following the game, the Phillies announced the optioning of Cesar Hernandez to Triple A Lehigh Valley. A corresponding roster move will be made on Thursday.

Injury updates
Per CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury, both Chase Utley (oblique strain) and Carlos Ruiz (hamstring strain) hope to begin minor-league rehab assignments when the Phillies’ road trip ends on Sunday. Utley and Ruiz are eyeing returns sometime next week.

Meanwhile, Erik Kratz’s recovery has just begun. Kratz on Wednesday underwent surgery on his injured left knee, and according to Salisbury, team officials said he’ll be sidelined for six to eight weeks.

What’s next?
If there’s anyone to stand up to a losing streak, it’s Cliff Lee (7-2, 2.55), who takes the mound on Thursday. Lee is 6-1 with a 2.27 ERA following a Phillies loss this season. He’ll matchup with right-hander Kevin Correia (5-4, 4.11).

Phillies in danger of season-worst losing skid

It's been just six days since the Phillies ran off their longest winning streak of 2013.

And six days later, they're on the brink of completely erasing it.

Heading into Wednesday night's game against the Twins (28-33), the Phillies are one loss away from slumping into their worst losing streak of the year at five games. After five consecutive wins drove them above .500 (31-30) for the first time since April 14, a four-game funk culminated with a possible defeat tonight could put the Phillies (31-34) right back where they started before their winning push.

Tyler Cloyd (2-2, 3.68) takes the bump for the Phillies and he'll oppose a familiar face (at least to Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard) in ex-Met Mike Pelfrey (3-6, 6.40).

The 6-foot-7 righty has more starts (20) against the Phillies than he does any other big-league team. For the most part, the Phillies had their way with Pelfrey while he was in New York. He is 7-7 lifetime in those 20 starts versus the Phillies with a 5.16 ERA. However, take away Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz, and just Rollins and Howard are left as the only two current Phillies with extensive track records against Pelfrey.

Rollins vs. Pelfrey: 13 for 44 (.295), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K.

Howard vs. Pelfrey: 16 for 43 (.372), 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 BB, 4 K.

The rest of the active Phillies: 1 for 31 (.032).

Pelfrey works slow and pitches to contact. Opponents are hitting .328 off him this season and he shouldn't strike you out (28 K, 20 BB). The right-hander is coming off his longest outing of 2013 in which he threw 6 1/3 innings of three-run ball for a no-decision against the Royals.

A noticeable way to hurt Pelfrey is on the bases. Over the last three seasons, Pelfrey has allowed 37 stolen bases in 40 attempts.

Overall, the Phillies have to be pleased with Cloyd's fill-in production. In his five outings this season, Cloyd has thrown four quality starts. Eliminate his clunker in Boston, and the 26-year-old has a 2.00 ERA.

Cloyd should be selective with Minnesota lefties Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Both are hitting .300-plus (Mauer: .330, Morneau: .306) versus right-handed pitching. Cloyd and the rest of the Phillies' arms need to make other Twins beat them. Aside from Mauer and Morneau, no other active, everyday Twin is hitting above .238.

Here are tonight's lineups:

Phillies

1. Michael Young, 3B
2. Ben Revere, CF
3. Jimmy Rollins, SS
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Domonic Brown, LF
6. Delmon Young, DH
7. John Mayberry Jr., RF
8. Freddy Galvis, 2B
9. Steven Lerud, C

Twins

1. Jamey Carroll, 3B
2. Joe Mauer, C
3. Ryan Doumit, RF
4. Josh Willingham, DH
5. Justin Morneau, 1B
6. Oswaldo Arcia, LF
7. Clete Thomas, CF
8. Eduardo Escobar, 2B
9. Pedro Florimon, SS

Phils lose fourth straight to another last-place team

The Phillies on Tuesday lost their fourth straight game to a last-place team with a 3-2 defeat to the Twins.

Cole Hamels threw another quality start and the offense offered anemic support.

With the game tied in the eighth inning, the bullpen lost it.

Have you already read this story?

The Phillies’ (31-34) lousy four-game slide has come at the hands of the Brewers (26-38), who went 6-22 in May, and the Twins (28-33), who suffered a 10-game losing streak last month.

It’s become expected of the offense to not hit or score when Hamels takes the mound and Tuesday night was more of the same.

Hamels (6 IP, 2 R, 5 K) gave the Phillies his 10th quality start of the season, but the bats produced just two runs, one of which scored with the help of a throwing error from Minnesota shortstop Pedro Florimon in the fourth inning.

Entering Tuesday, 16 major-league starters had 10 or more quality starts. Those 16 had a combined record of 103-43 (.705) coming into Tuesday, and only two had losing records: James Shields (2-6) and A.J. Burnett (4-6). Hamels (2-9) becomes the third.

The lefty allowed two runs in the fourth inning on four consecutive hard-hit balls. Hamels was visibly peeved with home plate umpire Paul Emmel’s strike zone. With Ryan Doumit leading off the fourth, Hamels disagreed with a call and kept his back turned to Emmel for a few seconds in clear frustration. Emmel then took off his mask and sternly stared back at the 29-year-old. The four hits and two runs followed that sequence after Hamels retired Doumit.

The Phillies have scored 31 runs in Hamels’ 87 innings pitched this season.

However, Ryan Howard finally delivered a timely hit and RBI with a man in scoring position and two outs. The Phillies’ first baseman knotted the score at 2-2 in the eighth inning by plating Kevin Frandsen on a single to right field. Prior to that at-bat, Howard was 3 for 28 (.107) with RISP and two outs.

But the Phillies would give the run right back. Pitching in the eighth, Mike Adams was relieved by Antonio Bastardo with runners at the corners and two outs. Bastardo then left a 1-2 fastball up and over the plate to Justin Morneau, who lined it into center field for the go-ahead RBI single.

Adams, whose ERA has risen to 4.22, took the loss.

The Twins fouled off 29 balls against Hamels, forcing him to throw 108 pitches over six innings. The Phillies, on the other hand, fouled off just seven against Minnesota starter P.J. Walters, who went 7 1/3 innings in 97 pitches.

With the loss, the Phillies dropped to 8-27 when scoring three or fewer runs.

Tyler Cloyd (2-2, 3.68) will try to play stopper for the Phillies when he takes the ball on Wednesday. He opposes former Met Mike Pelfrey (3-6, 6.40).

Now or never: Phillies must get on track in Minnesota

The Phillies began their 10-game stretch vs. teams well under .500 with four straight wins. Then they lost three in a row. We said at the outset that 7-3 was needed to emerge over .500, which means a sweep in Minnesota. But at the very least the Phils need a series win to prove they can beat teams other than the Mets and Marlins.

The Phillies are 14-5 against New York and Miami, and 17-28 vs. everyone else. In fact, the only other team they have a winning record against is the Giants (2-1).

Cole Hamels (2-9, 4.56) starts the series opener against P.J. Walters (2-1, 3.00).

Hamels is coming off a season-best outing in which he struck out 11 Marlins over seven innings. The Twins are a much tougher team, as they have three middle-of-the-order hitters who are both patient and powerful -- Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau.

Willingham has 17 career homers against the Phillies, more than he has vs. any other team. His power is almost exclusively pull-power, so Hamels must stay away from him. Willingham is hitting right around .200 on pitches on the outer-third of the plate.

The Twins are dealing with offensive struggles of their own at the moment. They've made 46 outs in their last 50 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

When the Phils last faced Walters, they greeted him with four straight singles to chase him from a start before he could record an out. He's a right-hander who loves to throw his curveball -- he's thrown it 33% of the time this season, more than any starter in the majors.

To go on a run, the Phillies need Hamels to start pitching like the Cole Hamels of old. That means a string of good starts that don't involve high walk totals or pitch counts that prevent him from pitching past the sixth.

Delmon Young will serve as the DH tonight, with John Mayberry starting in right field. Laynce Nix probably deserved the start against a righty, but Mayberry is enjoying a good month of June.

Here are tonight's lineups:

Phillies:

1) Michael Young, 3B
2) Ben Revere, CF
3) Jimmy Rollins, SS
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Domonic Brown, LF
6) Delmon Young, DH
7) John Mayberry, RF
8) Freddy Galvis, 2B
9) Humberto Quintero, C

Twins:

1) Jamey Carroll, 3B
2) Joe Mauer, C
3) Ryan Doumit, RF
4) Josh Willingham, DH
5) Justin Morneau, 1B
6) Oswaldo Arcia, LF
7) Brian Dozier, 2B
8) Clete Thomas, CF
9) Pedro Florimon, SS

Amaro on Phillies: 'There's no blowing up'

Here's something to talk about on an off-day. In an exclusive interview with Ruben Amaro Jr., the Phillies' GM told Jim Salisbury that the Phillies have no intention of "blowing up" their roster. Retool, maybe, but the Phils are "never going to be in the position of blowing up."

Sure sounds like the intent is to keep Cliff Lee. Amaro says in the interview that the Phillies' best chance of winning now and in the future is with Lee and Cole Hamels atop the rotation.

Lee obviously has immense trade value, probably more than any player in the last half-dozen trade deadlines. On top of being an ace, Lee is pitching better than he has in two years and is under control for two more. He's a player every team in baseball needs, including the Phillies.

"Boston didn’t blow it up last year," Amaro said. "They retooled. That’s the challenge we have whether it’s July 31 or November 1.”

True, the Red Sox kept guys like Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz. But those first four guys are still young. And what Boston did was so completely different -- the Red Sox sold off valuable pieces (Adrian Gonzalez) to clear the payroll of dead weight (Josh Beckett). 

Amaro touched on a number of other topics. He's disappointed in the team's play so far. He admits Ben Revere has fallen short of expectations, as has Delmon Young. He admits Ryan Howard hasn't played well at all. He admits even he was surprised by Domonic Brown's power surge.

Amaro also talked a little Darin Ruf, saying that just because he hit 30-plus homers at Double-A doesn't mean he's ready. 

I'd suggest reading the article in its entirety. Pretty revealing stuff, and it is as hard to justify trading Lee as it is to losing the opportunity to obtain one of the top prospects in baseball. That's the thing: If you're offered Jurickson Profar or Oscar Taveras you have to listen and consider. That is not at all a pipe dream. Lee's a top-seven starting pitcher who could help a contender make three straight World Series runs. 

Nothing Brewin': Phils drop 3rd straight in Milwaukee

Riding a high after Thursday's win to extend their winning streak to five and eclipse .500, the Phillies have since lost three in a row to the last-place Brewers following a 9-1 clunker on Sunday.

The Phillies had a chance to get an early jump on the Brewers in the first inning, when Michael Young and Ben Revere reached base on back-to-back singles to open the game.

As has been the theme this series, the Phils squandered the opportunity. Jimmy Rollins fouled out to third on a 3-1 pitch. Ryan Howard singled to right, but fielding the ball on two hops, Brewers rightfielder Nori Aoki gunned a perfect throw home to easily get the not-so-speedy Young. Domonic Brown was out on a soft chopper in front of the plate to end the threat.

From that point on, Milwaukee starter Kyle Lohse cruised. He retired 16 in a row after walking Jonathan Pettibone to lead off the second inning. Humberto Quintero broke the skid with a solo homer in the eighth. His first long ball of the year extended the Phillies' home run streak to 14 straight games.

Lohse picked up his second win of the year, and his first since April 22. He had gone 0-5 with a 5.53 ERA in seven starts since. The ex-Phillie has given his old club trouble recently and is now 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA in his last five regular-season starts against them.

The lone bright spot in the lineup may have been Michael Young, who had another multi-hit day, going 2 for 4. He's now 8 for 16 with a walk (and no double plays) since taking over the leadoff role, but the Phillies are 1-3 in those games.

Pettibone labored through 5 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (four earned), four hits and two walks while striking out four.

It was arguably Pettibone's worst start of the year, but his ERA remains a respectable 3.70 through 10 games. It'll be interesting to see what the Phillies decide to do with him now that John Lannan and Carlos Zambrano are both close to being major-league ready.

Jeremy Horst gave up two runs out of the bullpen as his ERA rose to 5.55. He is now tied for the team lead in appearances (26) with Antonio Bastardo, which says about all you need to know about the team's bullpen.

Phillies look to avoid series loss in Milwaukee

A pair of one-run losses have followed the Phillies' season-high five-game winning streak, and now they're back under .500 again. On Sunday they'll try to salvage their four-game set in Milwaukee with a win.

The Phils have struggled against the Brewers this season, losing four of six games to a team 13 games under .500. Three of those losses were by one run. The Phillies have the worst record in the majors in one-run games, at 5-10.

Sunday's pitching matchup is Jon Pettibone (3-1, 3.40) vs. former Phillie Kyle Lohse.

The Brewers forfeited their first-round pick this week by signing Lohse in late-March. He's just 1-6 with a 4.39 ERA for Milwaukee, but if you can believe he's been their best starter.

The long-ball has been a problem lately for Lohse -- he's allowed six in his last 10 2/3 innings.

Pettibone rebounded nicely last Tuesday from an ugly start at Fenway Park. Against the Marlins, he gave up just one earned run over six innings in an eventual walk-off win. Only once in his nine starts has Pettibone allowed more than three runs.

Getting back to .500 in Milwaukee is imperative. The Twins are next, and while they're 27-31, they have a patient, productive lineup. Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau form one of the better middles of an order in the AL.

Going back to the Marlins series, the Phillies have started off this string of games vs. losing teams 4-2. We said at the outset they needed 7-3 or better to enter the Rockies series -- their only one of the month against a team over .500 -- with a winning record.

Kratz to the DL

Erik Kratz was placed on the 15-day DL with a left knee injury. Steven Lerud was called up from Triple-A to replace him on the 25-man.

It's a shame based on the way Kratz was playing. He had a .903 OPS over his last 23 games, with six homers, 15 RBIs, 11 runs and 10 walks.

Humberto Quintero will get the bulk of catching duty until Carlos Ruiz returns. Ruiz is supposed to begin a rehab assignment next week.

Phillies lineup

1) Michael Young, 3B
2) Ben Revere, CF
3) Jimmy Rollins, SS
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Domonic Brown, LF
6) Kevin Frandsen, 2B
7) Laynce Nix, RF (first start since May 19)
8) Humberto Quintero, C
9) Jon Pettibone, P

Phillies squander opportunity, drop another to Brewers

Facing a pitcher who had started just one game in the last two years, the Phillies wasted a chance to beat up on a last-place club and fell back under .500 in a 4-3 loss to the Brewers.

The Phillies should've pounced on Milwaukee in the sixth inning. Back-to-back doubles by Kevin Frandsen and Jimmy Rollins gave the Phils men on second and third with no outs and the heart of the order coming up.

Then Delmon Young struck out, Domonic Brown hit into a fielder's choice that resulted in Frandsen being throw out at home and Mayberry grounded out to end the frame.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Brewers capitalized after putting their first two men on base. Following Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez's consecutive singles, Jonathan Lucroy doubled and Carlos Gomez singled, plating two runs and giving Milwaukee a 3-1 lead.

Brown provided the Phillies with all their offense. In the second, he clubbed his 19th Dom Bomb of the year. He leads the league in the category and trails only Chris Davis (20) in baseball. And in the eighth, he stroked a two-out, two-RBI double down the left-field line to bring the Phillies within a run.

Brown now has 11 homers and 22 RBIs in his last 15 games. The long ball was his fifth of the season off a lefty, and with a 1-for-2 showing against Gorzelanny, he's now batting .340 against southpaws this year.

In the leadoff spot for the third straight game, Michael Young went 3 for 4 — his second three-hit showing in three nights. Frandsen, spotting Ryan Howard at first against a left-hander, was 2 for 4 in the No. 2 hole, and Rollins also picked up two hits. But the Phillies couldn't capitalize, going just 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Kyle Kendrick turned in another quality start, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out six and walking one over six innings. Of his 99 pitches, 68 went for strikes. He took his fourth loss of the season.

Tomorrow afternoon, Jonathan Pettibone will take the hill hoping to salvage a series split. Former Phillie Kyle Lohse will oppose him.

Kratz could be hurt
Erik Kratz came up limping after he tried to beat out a ground ball to begin the ninth inning. Per CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury, Kratz felt something pop in his left knee and Charlie Manuel said it didn't look good.

Howard off, Frandsen in vs. Brewers lefty Gorzelanny

Ryan Howard has been struggling lately and against lefties in particular all season, so Charlie Manuel will give his regular cleanup slugger the night off and plug Kevin Frandsen in at first base.

We've all been waiting for Ryan Howard to break out of his slump this season. Though he's been hot in a few short spurts, he's yet to have that surge the Howard of old used to put together.

Batting just .209 with one homer, 5 RBIs and 20 strikeouts over his last 13 games, Howard will get the night off Saturday. The Big Piece is also just .207 against lefties this season (as opposed to his .226 career mark) and is 2 for 14 lifetime facing Brewers starter Tom Gorzelanny.

Frandsen, meanwhile, has been crushing left-handed pitching this year: 7 for 16 (.438), 2 HR, 4 RBIs, .591 OBP. The 31-year-old, who will bat second, similarly handled southpaws last year, when he batted .400 against them with a .554 slugging percentage.

Gorzelanny has held left-handed batters to a .231 clip in his career and a 6-for-31 mark (.194) this season.

With Howard out, Delmon Young will serve as the cleanup hitter. He may be a liability in right field, but the 27-year-old has been producing at the plate lately, batting .286 with five homers and 10 RBIs over his last 15 games. In June, he's hitting .368 and owns a modest six-game hitting streak.

Erik Kratz, who homered for the eighth time last night — moving into second on the team in the category — has an even better streak going than Young: he's knocked in at least one run in each of his last seven games and in 12 of his last 13.

On the mound, Kyle Kendrick (6-3, 3.12) is fresh off his complete game shutout of the Marlins. With a win, he'd tie Cliff Lee for the team lead. In seven career games (four starts) vs. Milwaukee, Kendrick is 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA.

Here are the lineups for Saturday night:

Phillies:

1) Michael Young, 3B
2) Kevin Frandsen, 1B
3) Jimmy Rollins, SS
4) Delmon Young, RF
5) Domonic Brown, LF
6) John Mayberry, CF
7) Erik Kratz, C
8) Cesar Hernandez, 2B
9) Kyle Kendrick, P

Brewers:

1) Norichika Aoki, RF
2) Jean Segura, SS
3) Ryan Braun, LF
4) Aramis Ramirez, 3B
5) Jonathan Lucroy, C
6) Carlos Gomez, CF
7) Rickie Weeks, 2B
8) Juan Francisco, 1B
9) Tom Gorzelanny, P

Phils lose four-run lead, winning streak to Brewers

A 4-0 lead and Cliff Lee on the mound. Book it as a win, right?

Not so fast.

It looked as if Charlie Manuel & Co. were in for smooth sailing en route to their sixth straight win, but the Brewers came back from four runs down against Lee to ruin the Phillies' winning streak with a 5-4 victory.

Lee tied his season high with three walks, two of which scored. The most damaging free pass came in the seventh inning with the Phillies ahead, 4-2. Milwaukee's Norichika Aoki walked on six pitches to leadoff the frame before the next batter, Jean Segura, laced a triple to right field and came all the way home to score on an errant cut-off throw by Freddy Galvis that bounced wildly off Erik Kratz.

The Phillies' 4-0 lead was gone and so was Lee after the seventh. The lefty allowed his most hits (8) and runs (4) in a start since May 1.

Jeremy Horst relieved Michael Stutes in the eighth inning with a man on third and two outs and recorded a huge inning-ending out. He wasn't as fortunate, however, in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Segura, Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez all singled in succession to give the Brewers (23-37) a surprising come-from-behind win.

The Phillies' offense went quiet after Jimmy Rollins (RBI single), Delmon Young (RBI single) and Kratz (two-run home run) handed Lee a four-run advantage in the fourth inning. The Phillies banged out six hits over the first four frames, but had just one the rest of the way.

The Phillies are now back at .500 (31-31) and turn to Kyle Kendrick (6-3, 3.12) on Saturday. He opposes lefty Tom Gorzelanny, who will be making his first start of 2013 and just his second since 2011.

Phillies go with same lineup in Game 2 behind Lee

It worked last night, so Charlie Manuel is employing the exact same lineup Friday night against the Brewers. Michael Young is back in the leadoff spot, with John Mayberry behind him.

Young and Mayberry combined for six hits last night -- the most by the Phillies' 1-2 hitters since Sept. 20, 2012, which was 73 games ago. Young leads the team in walks (24) and OBP (.347), so he is an unconventional but appropriate option at the top of the order.

Cliff Lee (7-2, 2.45) makes his second straight start against the Brewers. He struck them out 11 times over 7.2 innings last Sunday. Over his last six starts, Lee has a 1.54 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. He has struggled at Miller Park, however, allowing five homers in 20.2 innings.

Four runs has been a key cutoff point for the Phillies this season. They're 18-2 the last 20 times they've scored at least four runs in a game, and 23-6 on the year.

During their five-game win streak the Phils have hit .280 with 21 extra-base hits, averaged 6.4 runs and pitched to a 2.11 ERA.

The Nationals are rained out again tonight, giving the Phillies a chance to move 1.5 games ahead of them in the division. 

Scoring early will be key. The Brewers are 4-32 this season when not leading after three innings.

Phillies lineup

1) Michael Young, 3B
2) John Mayberry, CF
3) Jimmy Rollins, SS
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Domonic Brown, LF
6) Delmon Young, RF
7) Erik Kratz, C
8) Freddy Galvis, 2B
9) Cliff Lee, P

Brewers lineup 

1) Norichika Aoki, RF
2) Jean Segura, SS
3) Ryan Braun, LF
4) Aramis Ramirez, 3B
5) Jonathan Lucroy, C
6) Carlos Gomez, CF
7) Rickie Weeks, 2B
8) Yuniesky Betancourt, 1B
9) Alfredo Figaro, P