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Surging Cincinnati Reds come to town for three

The Phillies are back at it Friday night as they open a three-game weekend series with the Reds, who have won six straight, as well as six in a row on the road.

Cincinnati (25-16) began the season 3-10 away from Great American Ballpark but has swept back-to-back road series in Chicago and Miami.

Tonight's matchup is Cliff Lee (4-2, 2.86) against rookie left-hander Tony Cingrani (2-0, 2.89). The Phillies don't hit pitchers they've never seen and they are one of the worst teams in baseball against lefties, making this the rare double whammy. Maybe those two facts will cancel each other out and they'll put up a four-spot in the first inning.

Cingrani uses his 92-95 mph fastball 84% of the time, and also mixes in sliders and changeups. He'll be attacking the Phillies with heaters all night. In his last start against the Brewers, I watched Cingrani allow back-to-back homers to Jean Segura and Ryan Braun, who each went the opposite way with elevated fastballs. He isn't wild (37 strikeouts, 7 walks in 28 innings), but Cingrani struggled to locate on that day.

Lee has held most of the Reds at bay, but Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips have hit a combined .356 with seven extra-base hits in 45 at-bats.

Fun Reds stat: Shin-Soo Choo and Votto have reached base 177 times, equaling Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Dom Brown and Ben Revere combined.

Weird Dusty Baker decision: His continuous use of Zack Cozart in between Choo and Votto is baffling. He has a .236 OBP. Put a league-average hitter in between those two OBP mavens and they'd have scored at least a half-dozen more runs. Baker likes Phillips in the cleanup spot, but why not bat him second? Choo gets on base enough that Phillips would still have plenty of RBI opportunities, and it would put guys on for Votto, as opposed to having him lead off 40 separate innings, as he's done this year.

Phillies lineup

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS
2) Chase Utley, 2B (.300 OBP in two-hole)
3) Michael Young, 3B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Delmon Young, RF (7-18 last five games)
6) Domonic Brown, LF (.314 BA, 3 HR vs. LHP)
7) Carlos Ruiz, C
8) John Mayberry, CF (3rd straight start in CF)
9) Cliff Lee, P

And for the Reds:

1) Shin-Soo Choo, CF (5 HR, 8 RBI, 12 BB last 12 games)
2) Zack Cozart, SS
3) Joey Votto, 1B (.392 BA in May)
4) Brandon Phillips, 2B
5) Jay Bruce, RF (.379 BA, 7 XBH during 7-game hit streak)
6) Todd Frazier, 3B
7) Devin Mesoraco, C
8) Derrick Robinson, LF
9) Tony Cingrani, P

3 up, 3 down for Phillies through quarter mark

The Phillies are 19-22, in third place in the NL East with a -27 run differential. Nationally, .500 was right around where most analysts had them. Locally, we mostly bought in to the improvements upon last year's 81-81 team and saw one that could win at least a half-dozen more games with healthy stars and a legitimate setup man.

Some things have gone as planned, but many haven't through 41 games. Let's take a look at three positives and three negatives as we sit here on May 16, starting with the good.

1) Back of the rotation

Kyle Kendrick is 4-1 with a 2.47 ERA. He's made seven straight quality starts. He's had a 0.98 WHIP since Opening Day.

The peripherals back up Kendrick's success, giving us hope he can maintain close to this level of performance moving forward. He's struck out 17.7% of batters he's faced this season, a career-high. He's walked just 4.5%, a career-low. His groundball rate of 49.1% also represents a career-high for Kendrick in a full season.

It's not just him. Jonathan Pettibone has impressed, too. Earlier in the week, Kevin Frandsen lauded Pettibone's approach, saying that since the two were teammates briefly in Single-A, Frandsen has seen Pettibone care more about going deep into games than striking batters out. Frandsen's point that Pettibone could have always struck more batters out, but chose not to, is the kind of thing that doesn't show up on a Baseball-Reference minor-league stats page.

Pettibone is 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA this season. He won't stay this good forever, but it's been fun to watch through five starts. Pettibone has stranded close to 85% of his baserunners, which won't last. He doesn't have super-human skills that surface out of the stretch. That .178 opponents' batting average with men on base will increase.

But Pettibone has shown good enough stuff and command low in the zone to stick in the majors as a back-end starting pitcher.

The Phillies continue to churn out starting pitchers, if nothing else. Since 2007 there's been Kendrick, J.A. Happ, Vance Worley, Pettibone and to a much lesser extent Tyler Cloyd. Happ helped get you Oswalt, Worley helped get you Ben Revere, and that's not to mention Kyle Drabek and Carlos Carrasco, the centerpieces of trades for Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.

2) Domonic Brown's power

Brown's hitting just .250 with a .298 on-base percentage, but the power has finally surfaced at the major-league level. He's tied for the team-lead with seven homers and 19 RBI, and three of those homers have come against lefties.

Brown is hitting .314 overall against southpaws, which is as positive a sign as you can find. A very small sample, yes, but his ability to hit left-handed pitching as well as he has -- with power -- through 34 at-bats shows that he's seeing the ball well.

It seems like the Phillies have preached a more aggressive approach to Brown. He has only nine walks and 30 strikeouts this year, and he's swinging at the first or second pitch more than ever before. Brown hasn't walked once in 54 plate appearances this month.

3) Chase Utley's health

You take it for granted when it's there. Utley has played 40 of 41 games this season, missing only Tuesday's game vs. Cleveland. He's hitting .281 with an .835 OPS, and is on pace for 28 homers, 95 RBI, 28 doubles and 16 steals. It's not 2006-09 Chase Utley, but it's a much better version than we saw in 2011 and 2012.

Utley has made some puzzling decisions on the basepaths and in the field this season, but those mistakes have been more mental than physical. It doesn't look like he's lost a step, really.

If he stays healthy, starts 145 games this season and finishes with numbers close to those projections, contract discussions will become very interesting.

The bad...

1) Overall approach to hitting

The Phillies are built to swing their way out of slumps. There are no Jonny Gomeses on this team, guys who can make up for low batting averages by walking a lot. When Delmon Young or Ryan Howard aren't hitting, they won't be getting on base, period.

It's a shame, because in many circles the way you break out of a slump is to start seeing the ball better and watching it get deeper in the zone. Once a comfort level is re-gained, the hits come around. Adam Lind is one example this season. Andre Ethier is another.

The Phillies rank 25th in baseball with a .304 team OBP. They are the only team in the National League with four regulars under .300. It's important, because only one NL team since 2000 has made the playoffs with an OBP under .320 -- the 2012 Reds, who made up for it with standout power.

2) Halladay & Hamels

Roy Halladay, obvious reasons.

Cole Hamels ... what is going on?

Sure, Hamels had a 2.41 ERA in his six most recent starts entering Wednesday's game, but included in there was a five-walk and six-walk game. He struggled again Wednesday, allowing at least five runs for the third time in nine starts.

It's just been a strange season for Hamels. He's had poor command from the jump, and he now leads the NL in walks with 24. He's 1-6 with a 4.61 ERA. At this point last season he was 7-1 with a 2.17 ERA, 11 fewer walks and 19 more strikeouts.

What we've seen from Hamels is an inability to put batters away. He's racking up the foul balls -- more than 20 per game -- which is causing earlier exits. On Wednesday the Indians fouled 16 pitches off him in the first two innings.

One thing Ben Davis pointed out to me yesterday was that Hamels seems to be using his good changeup earlier in counts -- 0-1 or 1-1 compared to with two-strikes. That is telling. Batters are hitting close to .400 this season off Hamels' fastball, which could be prompting him to throw the changeup more often earlier in counts simply to get ahead. And it's the kind of pitch that, once timed, can be fouled off more easily.

He hasn't looked anything like the Hamels of old, and that's a problem. For the Phillies to contend this season they'll need ace-like production out of Hamels. Just think about it ... if everything else this season remained steady but Hamels pitched like he's capable of, the Phils would probably be as many games over .500 as they are under it right now.

3) The middle relief

Chad Durbin is done. Raul Valdes belongs in Triple-A, along with Jeremy Horst. It's harsh, but true.

None of those guys throws harder than 88 mph on average. None of them regularly retire batters or exhibit pinpoint command. Valdes and Horst were very good down the stretch last season when practically nothing mattered. Hooray. It's a new season.

Valdes can't even be trusted in mop-up duty. And Horst, while he got out of a jam on Tuesday night, has made a habit of letting just about every inherited runner score. He's a lefty who is having trouble with lefties (.448 OBP).

Phillippe Aumont hasn't been much better, but at least he has good stuff that you might be able to trust with men on base. But Durbin, Valdes, Horst ... would anyone mind if all three were sent away tomorrow and replaced with Michael Stutes, Tyler Cloyd (for 5th starter purposes) and Jake Diekman?

If you're getting zero production out of the current middle-relief crop, why not bring up the young guys who have a future in your organization and low-to-mid-90s stuff?

When Cloyd is eventually recalled, Justin De Fratus better not be the roster casualty, that's all we're saying.

Honorable mention (positive): Michael Young

Honorable mention (negative): Jimmy Rollins, Ben Revere -- though they've contributed to the awful team OBP

Hamels labors again as Phillies fall to Tribe, 10-4

In a game that looked a lot like the ones out in Cleveland, the Phillies were pounded by the Indians, 10-4, to end their brief two-game series.

Cole Hamels is having a very strange season. He had 24 pitches in the first inning, 51 through two and 77 through three. He walked two more batters and now leads the NL with 24 walks in 56.2 innings. One of those walks came after he started Asdrubal Cabrera 0-2.

Hamels had pitched well in his previous six starts, recording a 2.41 ERA and .186 opponents' batting average, but control has been an issue all along. He's had starts of four, five and six walks. He's had three starts of five or more earned runs. He's allowed multiple homers twice. He just hasn't gotten going.

Maybe some of it is Hamels trying to be too fine because he knows he's getting no run support. The Phillies had scored four runs in his 41 innings in the six starts prior to Wednesday.

But he's also been unable to put batters away. He's averaging 7.5 strikeouts per nine a year after averaging 9.0. Rather than swinging and missing, batters are fouling pitches off and preventing Hamels from going deep into games. He came in averaging over 20 foul balls per game. On Wednesday the Indians fouled off 16 pitches in the first two innings.

Hamels is now 1-6 on the season with a 4.61 ERA. Through his first nine starts last year he was 7-1 with a 2.17 ERA, 11 fewer walks and 19 more strikeouts.

Offensively, the Phillies did very little against Corey Kluber, who entered with a 5.64 ERA and .311 opponents' batting average. Jimmy Rollins was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI, but the rest of the team was 5-for-27 with no extra-base hits until Carlos Ruiz's ninth-inning RBI double. (Ruiz barely ran and was clearly out at second, but for some reason was called safe.)

The Phils are off Thursday before opening a three-game weekend series with the Cincinnati Reds. Cliff Lee (4-2, 2.86) takes on rookie left-hander Tony Cingrani (2-0, 2.89) in Friday's opener.

MRI for Adams

Mike Adams told reporters after Wednesday's game that his back felt "horrible" yesterday and he had an injection to loosen it up. The $6 million setup man hasn't ruled out getting an MRI.

Low-risk deal: Phillies add SP depth with Carlos Zambrano

The Phillies on Wednesday added some starting pitching depth by agreeing to a minor-league deal with veteran righty Carlos Zambrano.

Hard to dislike the move because there is little risk. The 31-year-old Zambrano will report to extended spring training later in the week.

The Phils needed starting pitching depth with Roy Halladay and John Lannan on the DL. Charlie Manuel said Tuesday that Lannan being ready by the end of May would be "a stretch." He said the Phillies would likely need a fifth starter at least 2 or 3 more times.

Zambrano walked 75 batters in 132.1 innings last season, and he hasn't thrown strikes often enough to be effective since 2010. That year he had a 3.31 ERA in 20 starts and 16 relief appearances.

But if Big Z can work his way up to the majors ... why not? Yeah, he's crazy and can be a distraction, but he's been humbled enough by this process -- having to wait until mid-May to sign even a minor-league deal -- to burn any more bridges, you'd think.

He can hit, too. Zambrano has a .238 career batting average and 24 homers. That's 11 more than Jamey Carroll, 10 more than Elvis Andrus, seven more than Juan Pierre and 24 more than Ben Revere.

Today's game

John Mayberry is back in the eight-hole for today’s 1:05 p.m. series finale with the Indians. Ben Revere is on the bench again. It makes sense to give Mayberry the opportunity at the bottom of the order, because previous Phillies eighth batters haven't been producing much at all. Entering last night's game, they had a .238 on-base percentage with two outs in an inning, meaning they were failing to turn the lineup over 76 percent of the time. Far too many innings a pitcher has led off. Mayberry went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI.

The best sign out of Tuesday's game was Domonic Brown's continued offensive progression. He homered off a lefty for the third time this season. Brown is hitting .314 with a .600 slugging percentage off southpaws in 2013.

Cole Hamels (1-5, 4.18) opposes Indians right-hander Corey Kluber (2-2, 5.64). Kluber is a 6-foot-4 fastball-cutter guy with a .311 opponents’ batting average. In two starts in May he’s allowed 11 runs and 22 baserunners in 10 1/3 innings. He's a tall right-hander with a 92 mph fastball. Nothing special.

Maybe the Phillies can actually score for Hamels today. He has a 2.41 ERA and .186 opponents' batting average over his last six starts, but the Phillies have scored four runs in his 41 innings and gone 1-5.

Today’s lineup

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS
2) Chase Utley, 2B
3) Michael Young, 3B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Delmon Young, RF
6) Domonic Brown, LF (.300 BA, 4 HR, 8 RBI in May)
7) Carlos Ruiz, C
8) John Mayberry, CF
9) Cole Hamels, P

And for the Indians

1) Drew Stubbs, CF
2) Jason Kipnis, 2B
3) Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
4) Nick Swisher, RF
5) Mark Reynolds, 1B (0 for 3 with RISP, 7 LOB on Tuesday)
6) Carlos Santana, C
7) Ryan Raburn, LF
8) Mike Aviles, 3B
9) Corey Kluber, P

Mayberry back in CF as Phils & Tribe close series

John Mayberry rewarded Charlie Manuel’s hunch Tuesday night by going 3-for-4 out of the eight-hole with a two-run double, an RBI single and a two-out single that turned the lineup over.

Manuel rewarded Mayberry with another day in center field.

Mayberry is back in the same spot for today’s 1:05 p.m. series finale with the Indians. Ben Revere is on the bench again. It makes sense to give Mayberry the opportunity at the bottom of the order, because previous Phillies eighth batters haven't been producing much at all. Entering last night's game, they had a .238 on-base percentage with two outs in an inning, meaning they were failing to turn the lineup over 76 percent of the time. Far too many innings a pitcher has led off.

The rest of the batting order is pretty standard, with the only difference from Tuesday’s lineup being Chase Utley back in the two-hole instead of Kevin Frandsen, who on Tuesday became the 100th player in MLB history to homer and be hit by two pitches in a game.

Cole Hamels (1-5, 4.18) opposes Indians right-hander Corey Kluber (2-2, 5.64). Kluber is a 6-foot-4 fastball-cutter guy with a .311 opponents’ batting average. In two starts in May he’s allowed 11 runs and 22 baserunners in 10 1/3 innings. He's a tall right-hander with a 92 mph fastball. Nothing special.

The only Phillie who’s ever seen Kluber is the slumping Delmon Young, who has three hits in six at-bats. Young homered and got on base three times in his Phillies debut, but has hit .176/.250/.265 in 11 games since.

The best sign out of Tuesday's game was Domonic Brown's continued offensive progression. He homered off a lefty for the third time this season. Brown is hitting .314 with a .600 slugging percentage off southpaws in 2013.

We also saw the early stages of Justin De Fratus' grooming for a late-inning role. With Mike Adams missing another game with back spasms, De Fratus got the call over Phillippe Aumont and Chad Durbin. Tells you all you need to know about how the Phillies feel about those three relievers.

Maybe the Phillies can actually score for Hamels today. He has a 2.41 ERA and .186 opponents' batting average over his last six starts, but the Phillies have scored four runs in his 41 innings and gone 1-5.

Oh, and...

It appears the Phillies have signed Carlos Zambrano to a minor-league deal. First reported by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Zambrano hasn't thrown enough strikes to be effective since 2010. But it's just a minor-league deal, and starting pitching depth is something the Phillies lack. Low-risk signing.

He can hit, too, which is a plus.

See above post for more...

Phillies down Indians for third straight win

Now that's more like it.

It was a great night for the Phillies on Tuesday -- and for many reasons -- as they beat the Indians (21-17), a team that made them look silly two weeks ago in Cleveland, 6-2.

Heck, Tuesday may have been the most complete effort from the Phillies (19-21) all season.

Here's why:

• Jonathan Pettibone continues to give the Phillies a huge boost. He went 6 2/3 innings and gave up just four hits and two earned runs against one of the league's most dangerous offenses. Pettibone is now 3-0 with a 3.41 ERA and the Phillies are 4-1 in games that he's started.

• The Phillies recorded timely hits and saw production from all spots in the lineup. Out of the eight-hole, John Mayberry collected his first three-hit game of the season, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs. With the Phillies trailing 2-1 in the fourth, Mayberry put them ahead for good with a two-run double. Domonic Brown clubbed his seventh home run of the season, tying Chase Utley for the team high. The left-handed Brown is hitting .314 against southpaws. Kevin Frandsen, who spelled Utley (night off) at second base, also homered. The Phillies have hit 16 consecutive solo home runs. Five of the six Phillies runs were scored by the team's six, seven and eight hitters -- great things happen when the bottom of the order produces. Carlos Ruiz singled, giving him a quiet seven-game hitting streak. The Phillies also tacked on two key insurance runs in the eighth. Left-handed pitching is not giving the Phillies fits as much as it used to.

• A bullpen (specifically middle relief) that has often times been shaky, was very good Tuesday night. With men on the corners in the eighth inning, Justin De Fratus and Jeremy Horst got huge outs to keep them stranded. Jonathan Papelbon hurled an easy ninth in six pitches. The Phillies' closer has now thrown 15 2/3 straight scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 1.08.

• The Phillies had no blemishes in the field for the third straight game.

• And ultimately, the Phillies won their third consecutive game by beating a red-hot Indians team, who had won 13 of their last 16 games coming into Tuesday.

On Wednesday at 1:05 p.m., the Phillies will go for their season-best fourth straight win. Cole Hamels (1-5, 4.18) takes on Corey Kluber (2-2, 5.64).

Game 40: Phillies seek payback vs. Indians

The team that flat-out embarrassed the Phillies in Cleveland makes a visit to Citizens Bank Park.

Two weeks ago, the Indians put on a full demolition of the Phillies in a short two-game series. Now, Charlie Manuel’s team has a chance to avenge those defeats with a pair of games on its own turf.

That opportunity begins tonight as the rookie Jonathan Pettibone (2-0, 3.63) looks to continue his solid work for the Phillies when he opposes the Indians’ Scott Kazmir (2-1, 4.87).

So, just how bad was the Phillies’ trip to Cleveland? Here are a few nuggets from the two losses:

• Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee compiled an 11.74 ERA
• The Indians’ first-inning output (four runs) of Game 1 outscored the Phillies’ combined output (two runs) in both games
• Cleveland outscored the Phillies, 20-2.
• The Phillies hit .136 (8 for 59) in the series

It wasn’t an anomaly for the Indians, either. Dating back to April 28, Cleveland (21-16) is 13-3 in its last 16 games. Among all of baseball, the Indians’ offense ranks in the top 10 in runs, home runs, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Cleveland will also have Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher back, two offseason acquisitions that were unavailable when these two teams first met.

On the other hand, the Phillies (18-21) are coming off a winning road trip (4-3) against the two best teams in the NL West (Giants, Diamondbacks).

To start their five-game homestand, they’ll give the ball to Pettibone, who in all four of his starts has gone five or more innings and has given up three or fewer runs. The Phillies have also won three of the four games Pettibone has taken the mound. The Indians, though, may be his toughest test yet as a big-league pitcher.

The Phillies will see Kazmir for the first time since the 2008 World Series. The former 15th overall pick of the 2002 draft has fallen off a bit, but he’s trying to revive his career with the Indians.

After posting an 8.64 ERA in his first two starts, Kazmir has answered with two terrific outings. In his last two starts — both wins — the 29-year-old lefty has put up this line: 12 IP, 3 ER, 17 K, 1 BB.

Chase Utley and Ben Revere get the night off against the left-handed Kazmir. Here are the lineups:

Phillies

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Kevin Frandsen, 2B
3. Michael Young, 3B
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Delmon Young, RF
6. Domonic Brown, LF
7. Carlos Ruiz, C
8. John Mayberry, CF
9. Jonathan Pettibone, P

Indians

1. Michael Bourn, CF
2. Jason Kipnis, 2B
3. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
4. Nick Swisher, 1B
5. Carlos Santana, C
6. Mark Reynolds, 3B
7. Michael Brantley, LF
8. Drew Stubbs, RF
9. Scott Kazmir, P

Phillies prepare for revenge against Ohio foes

A scheduling quirk has the Phillies off Monday and Thursday this week, with a two-game series against the Cleveland Indians coming Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a three-game weekend series with the Cincinnati Reds. The Phils were 0-5 against those teams in Ohio.

The Indians are still rolling. They've won 12 of 14, and lead the majors in slugging percentage and OPS. They might not be as potent as they were in Cleveland, but they will have Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher this time around. Neither prized offseason acquisition played in the last series.

The pitching matchups in this series are Jon Pettibone (2-0, 3.63) vs. Scott Kazmir (2-1, 4.87), then Cole Hamels (1-5, 4.18) vs. Corey Kluber (2-2, 5.64).

Kazmir has made three straight solid starts and was spectacular his last time out, allowing one run over six innings with 10 strikeouts against Oakland. It was his best outing in several years. Kazmir averaged 93-94 mph with his fastball that day and reached back to throw it as hard as 96. Velocity has been an issue in recent years for the former first-round pick -- he's been between 88-91 the last two seasons.

Kluber has a terrific first name but middling stuff. The opposition has hit .311 off him this year and .299 for his career. He's a 6-foot-4 righty who goes fastball-cutter, with some curves and changes mixed in.

Looking forward to the Reds series ...

Cincinnati is a much different team away from Great American Ballpark. The Reds are 16-6 at home and 6-10 on the road. They hit .265 with a .777 OPS at home, compared to .224 with a .641 OPS on the road. They have 28 homers at GAB and 9 everywhere else.

At home, Reds pitchers have a 2.87 ERA; on the road, 4.70.

If you recall, the first time the Phils played the Reds, they were in that four-game walkless stretch. The Phillies aren't going that bad anymore, and Shin-Soo Choo isn't going as good. The well-rounded lefty leadoff man still leads the league with a .451 OBP, but he's hit just .200 with 15 strikeouts over his last 16 games.

For some reason, Dusty Baker insists on batting Zack Cozart second, in between Choo and Votto, who rank 1st and 2nd in the NL in on-base percentage. Choo is at .451, Votto .444 and Cozart .237.

Cozart hasn't hit for average or power, he doesn't advance runners and all he does is pull the ball. It makes no sense why Baker continues to bat him at the top and waste outs. Votto has led off an inning 35 times already this season because Cozart makes the final out in anning so often. It's straight up terrible use of Votto, the best pure hitter in the National League, and it explains why he has fewer RBIs this season than Domonic Brown.

Phils finish rocky road trip with spirited comeback win

This was a very strange trip out west, but the Phillies not only salvaged it Sunday but will have something to build on coming back home. Four runs in the ninth and 10th innings gave them a 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks and a 4-3 record in San Francisco and Arizona.

What was an abysmal offensive showing for eight innings completely turned around once Kirk Gibson inexplicably took starter Brandon McCarthy out of the game. McCarthy entered with a 6.75 ERA and the highest hit total in the NL, but he shut the Phils out through eight innings and threw just 88 pitches. Gibson, for whatever reason, took him out to start the ninth, replacing him with an overworked Heath Bell.

The Phillies saw Bell well the other day but didn't beat him. This time, they did. Chase Utley greeted him with a two-strike double. Ryan Howard grounded him over to third. Delmon Young swung at a 56-foot curveball on the first pitch, but recovered to have a great AB and lace an opposite-field RBI double. It was his second clutch, ninth-inning RBI of the trip.

Domonic Brown tied the game later in the inning, and the hit parade continued in the 10th when Utley doubled again to advance Jimmy Rollins to third. Howard finally came through with his first two-run hit since April 28, a single that knocked in both Rollins and Utley. Jonathan Papelbon entered and the rest was history.

This was an enormous win for a maddening team. How did they manage no runs off McCarthy, but then score two on four hits off lefty Matt Reynolds, who entered with a 0.00 ERA in 17.2 innings?

Thank Gibson and Bell. Also thank the heavens that Gibson isn't your manager. This is the second time in two weeks he pulled his starting pitcher after 88 brilliant pitches. It happened to Trevor Cahill three starts ago, and JJ Putz immediately allowed the game-tying homer and the D-backs went on to lose.

Utley was the offensive star of the game, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and runs. He's up to .289/.344/.514 on the season.

Rollins and Howard made up for eight outs in their first eight plate appearances with the 10th inning knocks. And Freddy Galvis started the day 3-for-3 before finishing 3-for-5.

Oh, and don't forget about Kyle Kendrick. He allowed two runs over seven innings, marking the 15th time in his last 18 starts he's kept the opponent under three runs. Kendrick is 4-1 with a 2.47 ERA on the season.

The Phillies are off Monday and Thursday this week. Odd scheduling. They play the Indians on Tuesday and Wednesday at home, and then have a three-game weekend series with the Reds. Let's hope these Ohio showdowns go better the second time around.

Game 39: Revere leading off, Kendrick on the hill

Ben Revere has won back his leadoff duties -- or at least he has for the Phillies' Sunday game against the Diamondbacks.

The first-year Phillie was demoted in the batting order after struggling mightily atop it, but after going 7 for his last 16 (.438), Charlie Manuel has him leading off today against Arizona (21-16) in the Phillies' final game of their seven-game road trip.

Revere showed some of his catalyst qualities in the Phillies' win Saturday night. He went 2 for 3, scored a pair of runs, walked and stole a bag. He also boosted his on-base percentage to .293, and today marks just the third time the speedy 24-year-old has entered a game this season with his OBP above .290.

Kyle Kendrick, the team's surprising ace, takes the ball in hopes of giving the Phillies (17-21) a win and a 4-3 road trip against two of the top NL West teams.

Dating back to last season, Kendrick is 11-4 with a 2.43 ERA and .217 opponents’ batting average in his last 17 starts.

This season, Kendrick has a Phillies rotation-best 2.45 ERA and a victory over Arizona would give him a team-leading five wins.

Here are the lineups for the fourth and final game of this four-game set:

Phillies

1. Ben Revere, CF
2. Jimmy Rollins, SS
3. Chase Utley, 2B
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Delmon Young, RF
6. Domonic Brown, LF
7. Freddy Galvis, 3B (Michael Young day off)
8. Erik Kratz, C
9. Kyle Kendrick, P

Diamondbacks

1. Gerardo Parra, RF
2. Didi Gregorius, SS
3. Martin Prado, 2B
4. Eric Chavez, 3B
5. Miguel Montero, C
6. A.J. Pollock, CF
7. Jason Kubel, LF
8. Eric Hinske, 1B
9. Brandon McCarthy, P

Lee tosses gem as Phillies snap skid

The Phillies' offense was (relatively) silent again on Saturday night in Arizona, but with the way Cliff Lee was pitching a little bit of offense went a long way.

Thanks to seven shutout innings from Lee, the Phillies rolled to a 3-1 victory in Arizona to snap a three-game losing streak. At the same time, the Phillies were able to avoid falling to a season-worst six games under .500. At 17-21, the Phillies are five games behind the first-place Braves.

Saturday night, Lee got into one bona fide jam against the Diamondbacks when he loaded the bases on a walk, an infield hit and a two-strike single during the seventh inning. However, Lee was able to escape unscathed, finishing the game with three strikeouts, a pair of walks and six hits without allowing a run.

Lee improved to 4-2 and his ERA dipped to 2.86 before closer Jonathan Papelbon came in for a five-out save.

Papelbon struck out three and threw 29 pitches. In the ninth, he allowed the tying run to reach second base before closing it out with a pair of whiffs.

Papelbon is 6 for 6 in save chances this season.

The Phillies manufactured their first two runs with Ben Revere on the base paths and Jimmy Rollins at the plate. Revere led off the fifth with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Lee. He dashed up to third on a wild pitch before scoring the first run of the game on Rollins' sacrifice fly.

Revere scored in the seventh with a leadoff single and a stolen base before Lee bunted him over to third. Rollins followed Lee's third sac bunt of the game with a soft single to center for the second run.

Incidentally, Lee became the first Phillie to get three sacrifices in a game since July 29, 1999 when Chad Ogea laid down three of them in a 12-1 victory over the Marlins. Doug Glanville and Alex Arias combined for seven RBIs that day.

The Phillies go for the series split on Sunday when Kyle Kendrick (4-1, 2.45) takes on the D'backs' Brandon McCarthy (0-3, 6.75).

Cliff Lee looks to prevent season-worst record

The Phillies have dropped three straight to turn a promising road trip into yet another disappointing week. At 16-21, they've matched their worst record of the season -- they were also five games under .500 at 9-14.

Cliff Lee takes the mound hoping to stop the skid and enable the Phils to actually make this a winning week. With Lee going Saturday and Kyle Kendrick taking on NL hits-leader Brandon McCarthy (6.75 ERA, 1.68 WHIP) Sunday, it is possible the Phils can regroup and finish this west coast trip 4-3.

But they'll need to eliminate all of the gaffes to do so. The Phillies aren't a good offensive team by any stretch of the imagination, so these baserunning blunders are costly. Chase Utley hesitated for several seconds but still tried to turn a double into a triple Friday and was thrown out at third. It came after Jimmy Rollins' first-pitch homer and before Ian Kennedy continued to labor, so it really could have made the difference between a win and a loss.

The day before, Delmon Young was thrown out at second and John Mayberry misread a slow liner and was forced out at second. The day before that, Jimmy Rollins was caught stealing third in the late innings of a one-run game.

If you want a perfect example of the Phillies' ineffective offensive philosophy, look no further than Friday's game. Kennedy threw meatballs in the first inning and struggled with control all night, but the Phils let him off the hook. They scored no runs after the first inning and swung at ball four three times -- Ryan Howard once, Domonic Brown twice. All three pitches were way high and out of the zone. Somehow, Kennedy got through seven innings. Half of the NL would have forced him out after four.

Oh well. Lee cruised his last time out in San Fran and hopefully good Cliff Lee is back. He takes on Trevor Cahill (2-3, 2.80), who has lost a lot of weight and appears to be back to his 2010 form (18-8, 2.97 ERA).

Cahill is fifth in the majors with a 56.3% groundball rate. He'll throw lots of heavy sinkers, with some cutters and changeups and the occasional curveball.

Phillies score early but bats go silent, bullpen blows it

The Phillies got to Ian Kennedy early, hitting him up for a two spot in the first inning, but they couldn't produce a single run after that and the 'pen spoiled what was a nice season debut by Tyler Cloyd.

Jimmy Rollins led off with a home run, and the Phillies racked up two runs, four hits and a walk in the first inning to take an early 2-0 lead. But as it's done far too often this season, the offense went into a complete funk for the remainder of the game and the Phils lost, 3-2.

Cloyd, who seemed to be either completely on or completely off last season, was good Friday night, allowing just two hits but walking three in 6.1 innings. He escaped two walks in the fourth inning by inducing a double play off the bat of Jason Kubel.

Charlie Manuel pulled Cloyd immediately after he gave up a single to Cody Ross with one out in the seventh. It was the first hit the young right-hander had allowed since an RBI double to Eric Chavez in the first inning.

Antonio Bastardo proceeded to give up a long fly ball to Kubel that allowed Ross to move to second. Martin Prado followed with an RBI single to tie the game, 2-2.

With Mike Adams in to pitch the next inning, Miguel Montero deposited the first pitch he saw into the stands to give the Diamondbacks the lead. It was just the third home run of the season for Montero, who raised his average above the Mendoza line to .202 with the hit.

The Phillies made a bid to tie the game in the ninth. With one out and men on second and third, Laynce Nix popped out to third and Rollins grounded out weakly to first. They finished the night 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Halladay apologizes
In a classy move, Roy Halladay — who's scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday and remains hopeful he'll be able to return to the mound this season — issued a statement directly addressing Phillies fans, expressing regret about his recent performance.

"I just wanted to thank them for their support," Halladay said, per Jim Salisbury at CSNPhilly.com. "And my heart goes out to all of the people who spend all of their money and go out to the games and don't get to see what they want to see."

After going 40-16 with a 2.40 ERA and 1.041 WHIP in his first two years with the Phillies, Halladay has since gone 13-12, 5.24 and 1.264. He turns 36 on Tuesday.

"If I paid $60 and the team was down 9-0 when I showed up, I wouldn't like me," he said. "I just wanted to make sure they knew they've been a big part of everything and I've always appreciated their support."

Behind Cloyd, Phils look to even series in the desert

The Phillies are looking to put last night's debacle behind them and even their four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday behind the right arm of Tyler Cloyd.

Cloyd makes his season debut after going 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in six starts at Triple-A. He had 10 strikeouts and no walks in his start last Friday for Lehigh Valley. He credited the boost to the reemergence of his cutter.

Cloyd struggled to keep the ball in the park last September with the Phils, allowing eight homers in 33 innings. He'll have his work cut out for him tonight in a hitter's park against a team that has won seven straight.

Ian Kennedy (1-3, 5.19) starts for the Diamondbacks. Kennedy's problems this season have been caused almost entirely by walks. A righty with usually solid command, he's walked three or more batters in four of his last five starts and the D-backs lost each time.

Kennedy has shut the Phils down three of the four times he's faced them. Two Aprils ago he pitched a three-hit shutout with 10 Ks. Overall, he's 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA against the Phillies. Ryan Howard is 0-for-9 against him with three strikeouts.

Hopefully Jimmy Rollins breaks out of this extended funk soon. He's giving the Phils very little out of the leadoff spot, going 5-for-35 since April 30 with three runs scored in 10 games. His OBP is down to .286. The Phillies have the third-worst on-base percentage out of the leadoff spot this season, at .268.

The D-backs are going with a different looking lineup tonight. Catcher Miguel Montero, hitting .198 on the season, bats eighth. Eric Chavez is in the cleanup spot and Jason Kubel gets the start in left field.

Phillies relievers just aren't throwing strikes

The Phillies are 29th in baseball in fastball velocity from their relievers, and 13th in the National League in bullpen K/BB ratio. Jeremy Horst, Chad Durbin, Raul Valdes ... come on down and claim your prize.

Phillippe Aumont has been wilder than any of them, but he at least has a plus fastball that he can throw by hitters. It's the only way to explain Aumont's 2.45 ERA despite his 10 walks in 11 innings.

Fun Aumont stat: He's thrown 101 balls on 229 pitches. Only 36 relievers have thrown more balls than Aumont, and 35 have thrown at least 15 more pitches.

The man just can't repeat his delivery. If you watch, his arm angle gets lower and lower as an inning progresses.

As far as Horst ... last night was the second straight game he entered, walked the first batter he faced on four pitches and started the next hitter 2-0. He got out of jams both times, but do you think even he is pleased with how he's pitching?

Phillies relievers not named Papelbon or Adams have really struggled to throw strikes this season, which is mind-boggling considering this unit was set up to hit spots since it didn't have many 90-plus mph fastball guys. Raul Valdes sits in the mid-80s, Chad Durbin is at 87-89 and Horst is averaging 88 this year. They are finesse pitchers who can't throw strikes.

I'd say bring up Jake Diekman to replace Valdes or Horst, but even if he has mid-90s stuff he's also walked 20 guys in 15 innings at Triple-A.

It is a shaky situation that will either improve or just break altogether over the next month. For now, middle relief is a glaring hole on a team that has a lot of them. It just feels like the Phillies need one more effective reliever to even think about contending.

Phillies lose frustrating series opener, 2-1

Two steps back for every step forward with this team.

The Phillies lost, 2-1, in Thursday's series opener in Arizona. Cole Hamels pitched well enough to win, again. He lost, again.

Hamels walked three men over his final two innings and allowed single runs in each. His final read: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K. He has a 2.44 ERA in his last six starts. He's 1-5 on the season.

The Phillies didn't hit well, they were barely effective in middle relief and they had a bad baserunning gaffe in the seventh, when John Mayberry misread a liner over the second baseman's head and was forced out at second base from right field. Instead of bases loaded, one out, 2-1 ballgame, it was two outs, first and third, one-run game.

Delmon Young had an absolutely mind-numbing at-bat in the ninth. He swung at the first pitch and weakly grounded out to second against Heath Bell. Bell was working for the third straight day. For goodness sake, make the man work. Young bailed Bell out with one pitch and allowed him to settle in. Even if aggressiveness is his game, it didn't call for it in that situation. Swinging at the first pitch there was literally the worst thing to do.

Jimmy Rollins continues to slump. He made outs in big situations, saw nine pitches in four trips to the dish and is now at .235 with a .286 OBP. Yes, he'll come around soon. But can you imagine how much different the Phillies would be if they had a Denard Span-type of on-base guy at the top? Why is this team constructed this way? Does anyone know? There are way more of THESE games than there are Monday's and Tuesday's games.

Phillippe Aumont and Jeremy Horst somehow didn't allow a run, despite throwing 23 balls and 19 strikes.

Through 36 games, the Phillies have the third-most losses and third-worst run differential in the National League.

Hard-luck Hamels opens series vs. Diamondbacks

Win-wise, Cole Hamels is off to his slowest start since his debut season in 2006, when he was called up at this time of year.

Obviously, though, wins can be an incredibly deceiving stat because they're dictated by so many other factors than just the performance of the starting pitcher.

And that's been the case for the Phillies' left-handed ace thus far.

Hamels is 1-4 through his first seven starts, but in his last five outings, he's posted a 2.31 ERA and has given up just 21 hits in 35 innings, yet, he's 1-2 in those five starts because the Phillies have been shut out twice and scored one run once.

Hamels, who has thrown five straight quality starts, hopes to keep it going as he takes the hill to open the Phillies' (16-19) four-game set in Arizona against the Diamondbacks (19-15).

The Phillies are coming off a successful three-game series in San Francisco in which they took two of three from the defending champions. They can now make it a successful road trip if they carry it over into Arizona.

Tonight, the Phillies are up against the baby-faced Patrick Corbin, who has been stellar for the Diamondbacks. The 23-year-old lefty (4-0, 1.80) has pitched six or more innings and has surrendered two or fewer runs in all six of his starts. He's dominated lefties, who are hitting .160 off of him, while righties have compiled a .240 average. However, six starts is a relatively small sample size, so keep an eye on his approach against the Phillies' power lefties in Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

Three Diamondbacks to watch:

1. Cody Ross — Phillies fans certainly remember Ross from the 2010 NLCS. The Arizona outfielder has just one home run in 2013, but has taken Hamels deep five times in his career.

2. Martin Prado — Prado often hurt the Phillies as an Atlanta Brave, and he has 55 career at-bats against Hamels (.273).

3. Paul Goldschmidt — Arizona's 25-year-old first baseman is 11 for his last 24 (.458) and has four home runs and nine RBIs in his last three games. He leads the NL with 30 total RBIs.

Phillies lineup

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Chase Utley, 2B
3. Michael Young, 3B
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Delmon Young, RF
6. Domonic Brown, LF
7. Carlos Ruiz, C
8. Ben Revere, CF
9. Cole Hamels, P

Diamondbacks lineup

1. A.J. Pollock, CF
2. Didi Gregorius, SS
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
4. Cody Ross, LF
5. Miguel Montero, C
6. Martin Prado, 3B
7. Gerardo Parra, RF
8. Cliff Pennington, 2B
9. Patrick Corbin, P

Phillies tie Giants in 9th, but fall in 10th

The Phillies rallied in the ninth against Sergio Romo, scoring two runs and tying the Giants, 3-3. But an Andres Torres walk-off single in the 10th prevented the Phillies' first sweep in San Francisco since 1984.

Seeing the Phils hit Romo was a great sign. One thing they've really struggled to do the last two seasons is make up multi-run deficits, and they did exactly that against one of the game's best closers. It was only the fourth time in Romo's last 167 appearances that he allowed two runs and three baserunners.

Antonio Bastardo took the loss. He allowed a leadoff single to Buster Posey, who advanced to second on a sacrifice and to third on a wild pitch. After Guillermo Quiroz struck out, Torres laced a game-winning RBI single over Chase Utley's head.

The Phils knotted things up in the ninth when Utley singled in Jimmy Rollins and Delmon Young scored Michael Young on a sac fly. Kevin Frandsen -- who is hitting .410/.446/.590 against lefties since the start of 2012 -- homered earlier in the game off Barry Zito.

The Phillies fall to 16-19. They begin a four-game series tomorrow night in Arizona. It's Cole Hamels (1-4, 4.34) vs. Patrick Corbin (4-0, 1.80).

Halladay expects to return; Phils go for sweep

Lots happening with the Phillies as they close out the three-game series with the Giants.

Not only are the Phillies going for the sweep with rookie Jonathan Pettibone on the mound against Barry Zito, but Roy Halladay updated his injury status an hour prior to the game in the visitor's dugout at AT&T Park.

Halladay will have arthroscopic surgery to clean up his right shoulder, which he said has a bone spur, a frayed labrum and partially torn rotator cuff.

"The doctor seemed pretty optimistic that if what they saw was correct that I could come back and be a lot more effective and have a chance to pitch this year," Halladay said.

"He said he thought they could turn back the clock two or three years for me. I thought it was very good news. Obviously I don't want to miss time, but as far as scenarios go, I thought it was a lot better than some of the things I anticipated."

No timetable for his return has been determined.

"In certain cases, it's been three months, but we really don't have a timetable," he said. "I think the timetable is going to come once they go in and confirm that hey, what we saw in the X-rays is exactly what we saw when we went in there. ... They were definitely optimistic that I would be back this year."

Halladay seemed optimistic and said he hasn't felt much pain during this process. If you buy into what he was selling, this is very good news. Halladay said the doctors told him the cleanup would allow him to regain some velocity and command. His command deteriorated so rapidly there had to be something wrong. Apparently it was this.

Different lineup for finale

With the lefty Zito working, Charlie Manuel decided to give Ryan Howard and Dom Brown the afternoon off.

Here's Manuel's order:

1.) Jimmy Rollins, ss
2.) Kevin Frandsen, 1b
3.) Michael Young, 3b
4.) Chase Utley, 2b
5.) Delmon Young, rf
6.) Carlos Ruiz, c
7.) John Mayberry, lf
8.) Ben Revere, cf
9.) Jonathan Pettibone, p

Utley is starting a game in the cleanup spot for the first time since Sept.21, 2011. Utley went 0-for-3 with a walk and a pair of strikeouts against John Lannan that day. 

Utley is 7-for-17 with a pair of doubles, a triple and a homer against Zito. That's not as impressive as Mayberry's 4-for-6 against the lefty with three homers.

Kendrick's hot hand still on fire

The Phillies played a complete game Tuesday night, when they spotted Kyle Kendrick an early 3-0 lead and continued to tack on runs after the Giants pulled back within one run.

Kendrick cruised through seven innings and held the Giants to just two runs and six hits, picking up his fourth win of the season in a 6-2 Phillies win in San Francisco.

He needed just 88 pitches and punched out six batters while walking none.

The only time he got into trouble was the third inning, when Brandons Belt and Crawford opened the frame with a single and a double to put men on second and third. But Kendrick minimized the damage to two runs on a sacrifice fly from Angel Pagan and a double by Marco Scutaro.

Kendrick also flashed some leather in the second when he dove and gloved Gregor Blanco's drag bunt and bounced it to Ryan Howard just in time to get the out.

The Phillies' newfound ace has been unbelievable since flopping in the home opener against the Royals. In six starts since, he's 4-0 with a 1.71 ERA, 32 K's and just eight walks in 42 innings.

The Phils jumped out early and made Lincecum pay for a two-base throwing error in the first inning. Ryan Howard singled Chase Utley in before Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown were both punched out to end the frame.

In the second inning, the Phillies played perfect small ball. After Laynce Nix and Ben Revere opened with back-to-back singles, Kendrick sacrificed them over and Jimmy Rollins got Nix home with an RBI groundout to second. Utley followed with a single to plate Revere and afford the Phils a 3-0 lead.

Both Utley and Howard later clubbed solo homers.

The only starting position player who didn't pick up a hit was Brown, who went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts.

Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to secure the win.

Cloyd to start Friday
The Phillies announced they will bring up Tyler Cloyd to start in Roy Halladay's place in the rotation on Friday against the Diamondbacks.

In six games at Triple A Lehigh Valley this season, Cloyd is 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.486 WHIP, but he's coming off a solid outing: 8 IP, 1 R, 4H, 10K, 0 BB.

Cloyd brings with him six games of big-league experience. After being called up last season in late August, the right-hander went 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA and 1.212 WHIP. He was hit or miss with three very good outings and three pretty bad ones.

Speaking of Halladay, the results from his medical exam have yet to be finalized, but an update is expected Wednesday.

Phillies look for unexpected series win in San Fran

The Phillies have won just 4 of 14 series at AT&T Park since it opened in 2000, but they can make it five tonight if the bats stay alive against Tim Lincecum.

Getting to Lincecum early is the key. From 2007-11 -- when he was really good -- Lincecum had a first-inning ERA of 2.38. Since the start of 2012 -- when he became wild and ineffective -- his first-inning ERA is 7.38.

Lincecum is prone to one awful inning per start. Walks, wild pitches and high pitch counts remain an issue for the 28-year-old righty, and the Phillies really need to work him tonight. They didn't last season. Lincecum walked three or more batters 15 times in 33 starts last year, but walked only three Phillies in 13 innings.

He's opposed by Ace Kendrick, who is 3-1 with a 2.43 ERA this season, and 10-4 with a 2.43 ERA over his last 16 starts. Kendrick has been money on the road lately. He hasn't allowed a run away from Citizens Bank Park in 23 innings, he has 1.10 ERA in his last seven road starts, and in five of those he pitched at least seven innings without allowing a run.

Last night's win was quite impressive for a number of reasons. The Phillies put seven of their first 12 men on base. They scored more runs in the second inning against Madison Bumgarner than any team has scored off him in a game all season. Domonic Brown finally homered off a lefty who doesn't suck. (Sorry, Wade LeBlanc and Robert Carson.) Michael Young had three hits out of the three-hole. It was a fun night.

But it would be nice to get Jimmy Rollins going. He's made 25 outs in his last 28 at-bats, and has no steals or extra-base hits. He's scored one run in the Phillies' last seven games. Maybe some home cookin' will wake him up.

Phillies lineup (off night for Delmon Young)

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS
2) Chase Utley, 2B
3) Michael Young, 3B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Carlos Ruiz, C
6) Domonic Brown, LF
7) Laynce Nix, RF
8) Ben Revere, CF
9) Kyle Kendrick, P

Giants lineup

1) Angel Pagan, CF
2) Marco Scutaro, 2B
3) Pablo Sandoval, 3B
4) Buster Posey, C
5) Hunter Pence, RF
6) Gregor Blanco, LF
7) Brandon Belt, 1B
8) Brandon Crawford, SS
9) Tim Lincecum

Offense finally backs Lee in Phillies' win

Prior to Monday night, the Phillies' offense had scored just three runs over Cliff Lee's last 25 innings pitched. On Monday night, the Phillies' offense did plenty for Lee, scoring five runs in his eight outstanding innings. The bats tacked on one more in the ninth, giving the Phillies a 6-2 win over the Giants.

Lee came in with the sixth-worst run support among MLB's starting pitchers, but the Phillies gave him a cushiony lead on Monday night and he knew what to do with it.

After the club's two terrible losses to the Marlins, Lee threw eight spectacular innings, allowing two runs and striking out six for his third win of the season. The lefty threw 102 pitches -- 71 strikes -- and gave the Giants no free passes. He surrendered five hits and three were to ex-Phillie Hunter Pence.

And when the Giants put a runner on base, Lee often erased it. The Phillies turned three double plays behind the southpaw.

The Phillies' up-and-down offense jumped on Madison Bumgarner, who entered as one of baseball's hottest pitchers to start 2013. Charlie Manuel's lineup made him work, though, and scored five runs -- three of which came via two-out RBIs -- in six innings off the Giants' left-hander, dealing him his first loss of the year.

Michael Young smacked an opposite-field double with two outs in the second to plate the Phillies' first two runs. He went 3 for 4 on the night with a walk, boosting his average to .333 and on-base percentage to .398.

Domonic Brown continued his power streak, crushing an inside fastball from Bumgarner for a solo home run that took one hop into the San Francisco bay. It was Brown's sixth homer of the season, tying Chase Utley for the team lead.

Jimmy Rollins and Delmon Young both tallied sac flys, while Jonathan Papelbon threw a perfect ninth in seven pitches.

Kyle Kendrick (3-1, 2.43) takes on Tim Lincecum (2-1, 4.41) Tuesday night in the second game of this three-game series and seven-game road trip for the Phillies.

Game 33: Mayberry in CF, Phillies face Bumgarner

The Phillies' offense isn't too fond of left-handed pitching, and tonight, they'll face one of baseball's best.

The Phillies, who are hitting .207 vs. lefties, good for 29th in the majors, square off against San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner tonight.

Not only has Bumgarner been one of MLB's elite southpaws, but the 23-year-old has also been one of baseball's top starters period. He's 3-0, is tied for third among MLB starters in ERA (1.55) and is fourth in WHIP (0.84). Opponents are hitting just .181 off of Bumgarner.

The Phillies have had serious trouble against lefties and have an MLB-worst 18 runs batted in vs. left-handers.

With Bumgarner on the bump, Ben Revere will sit as John Mayberry gets the starting nod and will hit seventh. Mayberry is the only Phillie who has Bumgarner in his book -- he's 1 for 6 lifetime against Bumgarner with a solo shot.

Erik Kratz is in the eight-hole to form the battery combination with Cliff Lee. Delmon Young is in one of baseball's trickiest right fields, so keep an eye on how he judges fly balls and ricochets down the line and in the corner -- that could be interesting.

Here's the full lineup Bumgarner will face against the Phillies:

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

And for the Giants vs. Lee:

1. Andres Torres, CF
2. Marco Scutaro, 2B
3. Pablo Sandoval, 3B
4. Buster Posey, C
5. Hunter Pence, RF
6. Francisco Peguero, LF
7. Brandon Crawford, SS
8. Brandon Belt, 1B
9. Madison Bumgarner, P

Daunting week ahead for struggling Phillies

The Phillies never do much offensively in San Francisco and they aren't hitting to begin with. The Giants' three best offensive players are all hot. It all adds up to this being a pretty bad time to head to AT&T Park.

San Fran has won six straight. Over their last eight games, Pablo Sandoval is 18-for-34; Buster Posey is hitting .333 with three doubles, two homers, eight RBI and 10 walks; and Hunter Pence has six extra-base hits.

The Giants' bullpen is terrific, as always. Sergio Romo has a 1.72 ERA and 12 saves in 13 opportunities, Santiago Casilla and Jean Machi are racking up the strikeouts, and although Javier Lopez isn't off to a great start, current Phillies are 1-for-26 off him.

Even if San Francisco wasn't playing well this would be a tough series. The Phillies just never hit at AT&T, which is one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the league. They've scored 2 runs or less in 10 of their last 16 games there, and have won just four of 14 series since the place opened in 2000.

Madison Bumgarner (3-0, 1.55) is on the hill tonight against Cliff Lee (2-2, 3.46). Bumgarner and Lee are the only two starting pitchers in the majors with at least 8.3 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 or less since 2011.

Opponents are hitting .181 off Bumgarner this season, and he's yet to allow more than two runs in a game. He's the ace of the staff, no matter how much money Matt Cain makes or how many Cy Youngs Tim Lincecum won before the Giants made him stop smoking weed.

To win tonight, Lee will need to be razor sharp. He's walked multiple batters in 2 of 3 starts after not doing it 20 times in a row. The Giants are loaded with free-swingers, so quality strikes early are a must. If Lee gets two strikes on Sandoval he might as well attack because Sandoval hits opposite-field doubles off the ground like it's his job. (I guess it is his job.)

Let's hope the day off recharged Jimmy Rollins' battery. He's down to .244 on the season with a .302 OBP. Sadly, two Phillies regulars have OBPs even lower than that.

Ramifications of the Halladay injury

We all know by now that Roy Halladay is DL-bound with shoulder soreness. He'll see Dr. Lewis Yocum out in California this week and it's A) Likely he misses time, and B) Likely he gives the Phillies very little the rest of 2013. Even if the recovery is a short one, Halladay has proven time and again this season he's not only not the Doc of old, he's not even a serviceable major-league starter anymore.

Halladay allowed nine runs in 2 1/3 innings to the worst team in the National League. He walked four Marlins and hit two. He allowed a bases-clearing triple and a grand slam. His ERA is 8.65. His control is gone. His effectiveness is gone. His mystique is gone. It's an incredibly sad situation because of who Halladay is, and now the question becomes: How is he replaced?

The Phillies have some internal options. Adam Morgan, Tyler Cloyd. John Lannan should be back in a few weeks so the Phils wouldn't be going with two young guys the rest of the way if this is a long-term injury for Doc.

What you could see this week is the Phillies do what they did when Lannan went down -- bring up a Joe Savery-type reliever until a starter is necessary later in the week.

Pathetic weekend

No two ways about it. The Phillies had three baserunners on Saturday and couldn't touch Kevin freaking Slowey on Sunday. It's pretty clear this isn't a winning foundation. The Phils are 14-18 after a pretty favorable first 32 games. They needed to at least take three of four at home against an awful Miami team and they didn't.

Now come seven games in NL West ballparks. They'll face Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito in San Fran, then Patrick Corbin, Ian Kennedy and Trevor Cahill in Arizona. Some of the pitching matchups are winnable. Lincecum is wild and Zito is prone to the big inning. Kennedy has been terrible thus far.

But really, what's the point in even predicting success or failure with this lineup? It is so unbelievably streaky and it doesn't do anything better than average. It doesn't have above-average power. It doesn't have above-average plate discipline. It doesn't have above-average situational skills or a bevy of hitters who regularly maintain high BABIPs.

Rough weekend. At least Ben Revere raised his OBP to .264.

Tough times at the Bank for the Phillies

The news that Roy Halladay could be headed for the disabled list is the biggest news after teh Phillies' 14-2 loss to the Marlins, and rightly so. However, if Halladay's potential injury does one thing, it masks the larger issues plaguing the Phillies.

Those issues? Take your pick.

On Sunday the Phillies' problems were all encompasing. From Halladay giving up nine runs in 2 1/3 innings, the Phils were two-hit over seven innings by Kevin Slowey, a pitcher who lost his last 10 decisions and hadn't won a game since September of 2010. This came a day after the Phillies were blanked on a one-hitter from Jose Fernandez.

Forget about the starting pitching and the dearth of hitting... how about the relief pitching? In the 14-2 loss, Raul Valdes, Chad Durbin and Jeremy Horst combined to give up five runs and a pair of homers. Sure, the white flag went up early and there wasn't much on the line in Sunday's game. However, aside from Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon, which reliever can Charlie Manuel depend on?

And the hitting? Five hits and one earned run in two games ... against the Marlins? 

Here's a depressing development: The Marlins have six wins against the Phillies and Mets and only four against every other team in the majors.

Game 32: Halladay looks to bounce back ... again

The Phillies hit the road for seven games starting in San Francisco on Monday night, but first they finish up a four-game series against the Marlins with Roy Halladay on the mound.

Halladay heads into Sunday's series finale following a 14-2 loss to the Indians last Tuesday where he allowed eight runs on nine hits and a pair of walks in 3 2/3 innings. Halladay also allowed three homers in the defeat, wrecking a stretch where he seemed to have turned a corner.

Meanwhile, the Phillies' offense hopes to bounce back after generating just one stinkin' hit against the Marlins on Saturday night.

Here's the lineup manager Charlie Manuel hopes will get it going:

1.) Freddy Galvis, ss
2.) Michael Young, 3b
3.) Chase Utley, 2b
4.) Ryan Howard, 1b
5.) Delmon Young, rf
6.) Domonic Brown, lf
7.) Carlos Ruiz, c
8.) Ben Revere, cf
9.) Roy Halladay, p

The Phillies face righty Kevin Slowey, a pitcher the team hasn't faced a lot. But when the Phillies have seen Slowey, they've hit him pretty well. As a group, Phillies' players are batting .364 (12 for 33) with a double, triple and homer. Ryan Howard is 3 for 5 against Slowey with a homer and double.

Here's the Marlins lineup to face Halladay:

1.) Juan Pierre, lf
2.) Chris Valaika, 2b
3.) Placido Polanco, 3b
4.) Justin Ruggiano, cf
5.) Marcell Ozuna, rf
6.) Greg Dobbs, 1b
7.) Miguel Olivio, c
8.) Adeiny Hechavarria, c
9.) Kevin Slowey, p

Greg Dobbs hits Halladay particularly well, going 9 for 21 with three doubles and a homer against him

Fernandez one-hits Phils, Hamels takes another loss

Cole Hamels was left begging for run support, and the Phillies had no answer for Jose Fernandez, who silenced their bats for the second time this season in a 2-0 Marlins victory.

Fernandez picked up his first major-league win, Marcell Ozuna clubbed his first major-league homer and the major-league worst Miami Marlins beat the Phillies' opening day starter for the second time this season.

Freddy Galvis had a decent night at the plate: 1 for 3 with a walk. His first out came on a hard-hit grounder to second.

The rest of the Phillies: 0 for 25 with 11 strikeouts. Jimmy Rollins reached base on a ninth-inning walk.

At one point, Fernandez retired 17 Phillies in a row. He needed only 82 pitches across seven dominant innings and punched out nine in the process. Mike Dunn pitched a perfect eighth, and Steve Cishek closed it out for his fourth save. The Marlins (9-22) have now beaten the Phillies (14-17) twice in six tries this season.

It was unfortunate for Cole Hamels, who threw well especially after allowing solo home runs in the second and third innings. Hamels retired 17 of the last 18 batters he faced, but he took his fourth loss of the year. He yielded just four hits. Chris Valaika took Hamels deep for his first homer of the season as well.

In his last four starts against the Fish, Hamels is now 2-1 with a 1.20 ERA.

The case of Fernandez is a puzzling one: He's now crushed the Phillies twice this year, allowing just three hits and no runs in 13 innings. Against the rest of the majors, Fernandez has given up 12 runs and 18 hits in 18 frames.

After being shut out for the fifth time this season, the Phillies will still have a chance to take three out of four from Miami tomorrow afternoon when Roy Halladay squares off against Kevin Slowey at 2:35 p.m.

Game 31: Phils get another shot at Fernandez

Jose Fernandez dominated the Phillies for six innings on April 13, besting Cole Hamels in a 2-1 Marlins win. Saturday, Hamels will square off again against Fernandez, who has struggled mightily since.

Fernandez blanked the Phillies across six innings, holding them to two hits and recording five strikeouts while walking two. He didn't get the win and has yet to record one in five major-league starts, but he helped lead Miami to its only victory over the Phils this season.

But since that gem, Fernandez is 0-2 with 11 runs allowed in 13 innings (7.62 ERA), and opponents are hitting .294 against him with a .393 OBP. On the season overall, right-handed batters are hitting .303 off the right-hander, significantly better than lefties (.179).

Nevertheless, Michael Young will sit as Freddy Galvis gets the start at third. Galvis will bat second.

The right-handed hitting Young, who also sat the last time Fernandez starts against the Phils, is batting .346 off righty pitchers this season, so it would appear to be a good matchup. But he's started in seven straight games so apparently he needs a night off.

For what it's worth, Galvis had one of the Phillies' two hits off Fernandez the first time. And he's also hitting well against righties, going 7 for 23 (.304) off them as a lefty.

And here are tonight's lineups...

For the Phillies:

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS
2) Freddy Galvis, 3B
3) Chase Utley, 2B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Delmon Young, RF
6) Domonic Brown, LF
7) Carlos Ruiz, C
8) Ben Revere, CF
9) Cole Hamels, P 

And the Marlins:

1) Donovan Solano, 2B
2) Chris Valaika, 1B
3) Placido Polanco, 3B
4) Justin Ruggiano, CF
5) Marcell Ozuna, RF
6) Matt Diaz, LF
7) Miguel Olivo, C
8) Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
9) Jose Fernandez, P

Halladay shows leadership in defense of Dubee

Something had to be said.

And, to no surprise, Roy Halladay took charge.

Speaking on 94 WIP Friday morning, Mitch Williams, a former Phillies closer and now MLB Network analyst, singled out Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee for the team’s mound struggles. Williams even insisted the club seek a new coach for its important arms.

"It may be time for a new voice," Williams told WIP. "It’s not personal. I think these pitchers have to hear something new. What they’re doing right now just isn’t getting it done."

It became a moment in dire need of leadership.

Prior to Friday’s win over the Marlins, Halladay took time to speak with reporters and firmly denounce Williams’ remarks.

"Coming from the mechanical wonder," Halladay said about Williams and his comments, per Jim Salisbury. "Yeah, I strongly disagree. To come from a guy who's not around, who's not involved. He's not involved in the conversations ... honestly has no idea what's going on. He really doesn't. He has no idea what's going on in the clubhouse, on the field between coaches and players. To make comments like that, it's completely out of line.

"Watching Kyle Kendrick, the stuff that he's learned, the way he's grown, is because of Rich Dubee and it's because of his work ethic and the way he goes about things. It really does upset me. It upsets me that guys outside of our group of guys that don't understand what's going on here make comments like that. Hopefully, it's something he'll learn from. I'm not sure if that's the case, but he couldn't be further from the truth. And I don't think it's the first time he's been a little off base."

This wasn’t Halladay’s first go-around, either. That taking-a-stand mentality has become expected from the seasoned veteran.

If you recall, in spring training Halladay expressed the importance of defending teammates who are thrown at by opposing pitchers. In a Grapefruit League game, Chase Utley was plunked by Washington’s Stephen Strasburg. The ensuing inning, Halladay threw behind the back of Nationals outfielder Tyler Moore.

Was it intentional? Halladay claimed it "slipped … a little bit," and that if it hit Moore, "it wouldn’t have been the worst thing after they (hit) one of our good guys."

He then went on to say this: "I think we do need to protect our guys to an extent. I’m not saying that’s what happened — it slipped — but I think that’s important. We’ve had a lot of guys hit over the years and I think as a staff we need to do a good job protecting those guys."

And who can forget Game 5 of the 2010 NLCS. Halladay took the hill on a damp and drizzly San Francisco afternoon with the Phillies on the brink of elimination against the Giants.

Trailing 3-1 in the series and fighting to send it back to Philadelphia, Halladay willed the Phillies past Tim Lincecum and the Giants, all while battling through calamity: a groin injury, which Halladay kept secret for the duration of his outing.

"I think all of us, at this point, have kind of put our own personal stuff aside, and go out and play as a team and try to accomplish stuff as a team,” Halladay said after he threw six remarkable innings of two-run ball to propel the Phillies to a 4-2 win.

"They'd have to kick me out. I mean, I was going to find a way."

That took guts and leadership.

Yes, Halladay has been a different pitcher compared to what he was when he joined the Phillies. Since his arrival, the 6-foot-6 righty has notched a Cy Young Award, perfect game, no-hitter and a couple of postseasons under his belt.

However, he’s now turning 36 on May 14, his ERA is 6.75 and outsiders have questioned whether he’s got anything left in the tank.

But it’s the intangibles that Halladay brings — professionalism, work ethic, heart, just to name a few — that can impact an entire organization.

On Friday, it was leadership — an aspect of Halladay the Phillies can always count on.

Howard, Brown stay hot as Phillies top Marlins

There were plenty of good signs from the Phillies on Friday night.

To the delight of many worried fans from April, two great signs were Ryan Howard and Domonic Brown.

The club's hottest bats homered for the second straight game as the Phillies (14-16) pieced together a good-looking win over the unfortunate Marlins (8-22), 4-1.

Howard and Brown, who both endured April slumps, have turned it on and kept it going Friday. A night after they each hit their fourth long ball of the season, Howard and Brown were back at it, each clubbing their fifth home run to boost the Phillies' offense.

Over the team's first 21 games, Howard posted one home run and six RBIs. In the past nine games: 10 for 31 (.323), four home runs, 12 RBIs, eight runs scored.

Same story for Brown. The 25-year-old was hitting .206 entering April 24, but since then: 13 for 34 (.382). Brown's five home runs are tied with Howard for second on the team to ...

Chase Utley. The Phillies' second baseman has shown no indication of slowing down. Utley nailed his sixth dinger on Friday, which leads all NL second basemen. He also has 21 RBIs, second to only Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips among NL second basemen.

The Phillies have hit nine straight solo home runs. Imagine if the Phillies' power threats start wreaking havoc with men aboard.

And not to be overlooked, Jonathan Pettibone pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in his big-league career, going 6 1/3 innings for his second win in three starts. The 22-year-old gave up one run, which came on a hanging curveball that Donovan Solano deposited into the seats.

The back-end trio of Antonio Bastardo, Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon was very strong. Bastardo displayed his biggest weakness: control. With a man on, he relieved Pettibone and walked two to load the bases. However, he then displayed his biggest strength: strikeout stuff. Bastardo escaped his self-induced jam by punching out the next two batters to finish the seventh.

Adams recorded his third hold, while Papelbon saved his fifth game.

Ben Revere returned to the lineup and delivered a two-out RBI single in the second inning.

Delmon Young started in right field for the second straight game and made a well-played, leaping catch at the base of the wall in the second inning. So far, so good.

Next up is Jose Fernandez (0-2, 4.50) vs. Cole Hamels (1-3, 4.78) on Saturday.

Questionable lineup: Delmon starts vs. Nolasco

Right-handed hitters are batting 102 points lower than lefties this season against Ricky Nolasco, and had an OPS 83 points lower than lefties from 2010-12. Delmon Young has a .702 OPS against right-handers since 2010. And yet, Young is in the lineup, batting fifth Friday night instead of Laynce Nix.

Nix hasn't seen Nolasco a whole lot, but he has reached base in 7 of 16 plate appearances against him, adding more mystery to Charlie Manuel's decision to go with Young. Even if the Phillies want Young to be the guy in right field on most nights, doesn't it still make sense to sit him against a righty with extreme platoon splits?

Ben Revere is back in center, and Carlos Ruiz is back behind the plate to catch Jonathan Pettibone for the first time in a major-league game. Ruiz is batting seventh, which appears to be his slot this year.

Phillies lineup

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS (hitless in last 11 ABs)
2) Chase Utley, 2B
3) Michael Young, 3B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B (8-for-33, three homers, four doubles vs. Nolasco)
5) Delmon Young, RF
6) Domonic Brown, LF (.387 BA last eight games)
7) Carlos Ruiz, C
8) Ben Revere, CF
9) Jonathan Pettibone, P

And for the Marlins

1) Juan Pierre, LF (leads NL with nine steals)
2) Donovan Solano, 2B
3) Placido Polanco, 3B (8 for last 46)
4) Greg Dobbs, 1B
5) Justin Ruggiano, CF
6) Marcell Ozuna, RF
7) Rob Brantly, C
8) Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
9) Ricky Nolasco, P

Salisbury: Giancarlo Stanton remains on Phillies' radar

One thing I've learned as I've grown up in this business is: When Jim Salisbury speaks, people listen. The man is more plugged into the Phillies' intentions than anyone in the city, so when he writes that Giancarlo Stanton remains an organizational target, it's safe to believe that is the case, no matter how unrealistic a deal may seem.

It would take a metric ton to acquire Stanton in an intra-division trade. He's 23, hasn't gotten expensive yet, is built like Khal Drogo and hits baseballs a million feet. Salisbury rightfully points out that the Phillies don't have as much young talent to offer as other teams, but he also points out that the Phils have already placed calls to Miami and have "let it be known they want to speak with the Marlins when and if they decide to move" Stanton.

The thinking here is that a deal would obviously cost Jesse Biddle and probably much more. Maybe something like Biddle, another young pitcher like Adam Morgan or Jon Pettibone, a slick young fielder like Freddy Galvis and a legitimate difference-making bat -- which the Phillies may or may not have on the farm.

And even that might not even get something done, because every team in the league covets Stanton and plenty of others have more to offer.

You also have to ask whether a move like that makes sense for the Phillies, a team that already ranks toward the very bottom of most outlets' minor-league rankings. A move for Stanton would mean the Phillies are all-in, and it's hard to say whether that's the best course to go with this team.

In any event, Salisbury is planting the Stanton seed if and only if the Phillies are buyers. If they're sellers, they'll have plenty to trade. Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, Jimmy Rollins (who was apparently in play last July), Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz top the list. He even mentions Delmon Young in that list.

As last season showed, no trade is meaningless. The Phillies acquired two intriguing pieces for Jim Thome. The Shane Victorino deal directly brought in Ethan Martin and indirectly led to the Michael Young deal.

A lot to think about on a Friday.

Kendrick hurls fifth straight quality start, Phils win

Kyle Kendrick, the Phillies' unlikely go-to arm thus far, played stopper on Thursday after the team's disastrous two-game trip in Cleveland.

Kendrick was not his best, but was again solid when his club desperately needed it, helping the Phillies (13-16) to a 7-2 win over the Miami Marlins (8-21).

Kendrick gave the Phillies another quality start — his fifth in six total starts — and the offense put up seven runs, equaling its run production over the past three games.

Kendrick had to wiggle out of some jams, particularly in the third inning. In that frame, he threw first-pitch balls to five of his six batters faced, but left unscathed by striking out Rob Brantly on four pitches with the bases loaded and two outs.

Kendrick walked two and gave up seven hits, but allowed just two runs in seven innings. Kendrick now has three wins, a 2.43 ERA and 1.13 WHIP — all rotation bests.

In the second inning, Domonic Brown put the Phillies on the board for the first time in 13 innings with a missile-like home run (his fourth) to right field that went out within the blink of an eye. Brown finished the night with his first three-hit effort of the season, while knocking in a pair of runs.

Through the Phillies' offensive ups and downs, Brown has quietly come on after going 2 for 21 (.095) during a mid-April stretch. The 25-year-old is 12 for his last 31 (.387), raising his average from .206 to .266.

Ryan Howard also produced his fourth long ball — an opposite-field shot — with an impressive nine-pitch at-bat in the fourth. As the weather heats up, the Phillies' Big Piece continues to do the same. He now has 14 hits (four doubles, three home runs) in his last 43 at-bats (.326), to go along with 12 RBIs.

Kendrick's seven innings set things up for Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon to finish the job.

On Friday, the Phillies turn to 22-year-old Jonathan Pettibone, who will make his third big-league start. He opposes Miami's Ricky Nolasco.

Game 29: Kendrick & Kratz to the rescue?

After a disastorous two days in Cleveland, the Phillies come home where they hope to beat up on the hapless Miami Marlins.

And to start the four-game series the Phillies will have their ace on the mound ... Kyle Kendrick?

Kendrick leads the team with a 2.41 ERA, a 1.099 WHIP. Never known for piling up the strikeouts, Kendrick has remained a healthy 6.5 since the start of last season. Meanwhile, the Phillies are 2-1 in games started by Kendrick following a loss.

It's notable that Kendrick is working with catcher Erik Kratz. As a battery, the pair have worked well this year, including Kendrick's last start where he tossed a three-hit shutout in the 4-0 victory over the Mets.

Here's how the Phillies lineup against the Marlins and Alex Sanabia:

1.) Jimmy Rollins, ss
2.) Chase Utley, 2b
3.) Michael Young, 3b
4.) Ryan Howard, 1b
5.) Delmon Young, rf
6.) Dom Brown, lf
7.) John Mayberry, cf
8.) Erik Kratz, c
9.) Kyle Kendrick, p

Only five players on the Phillies' roster have faced Sanabia and only two of those players have hits against him -- Cliff Lee and Mayberry. One of Mayberry's hits was a solo home run during the sixth inning of a game on Sept. 15, 2011.

Also: before the game the Phillies announced that Ezequiel Carrera had been claimed off waivers by Cleveland. Carrera was designated for assignment when Delmon Young was activated.

These Phillies are at least creative with losses

It's pretty difficult to do what the Phillies did last night: Walk seven times but not hit or score. They had seven walks, three hits and no runs.

- They're the first team since the Padres in September 2010 to walk at least seven times while mustering three or fewer hits and no runs.

- They went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Domonic Brown was responsible for two of the three hits and Ben Revere had the other. Revere actually lifted balls in the air in consecutive at-bats for just the third time this season.

(Wow, was that a miserable offensive performance or what...)

- The Phillies had two men on in four different innings and failed to score.

- Michael Young grounded into his his 7th double play of the season. No two NL teammates have more GIDPs than Young and Revere (12).

- The Phillies have grounded into 14 double plays with runners in scoring position. No other NL team has more than 11.

- The Phillies gave Cliff Lee nothing, yet again, causing him to question the team's pride after the game in a surprising display of candor from a usually boring quote. The Phils are back to their old tricks, having scored 3 runs in Lee's last 29 innings.

Positives...

- This is a positive or negative sign, depending on how you look at it: Ryan Howard missed another homer by inches, marking his 9th fly ball to the warning track or wall already this season. He could legitimately have 7 or 8 home runs.

- Laynce Nix timed a deep fly tremendously and got his glove over the wall in right field to rob Drew Stubbs of a home run in the sixth. 

- Chase Utley made the prototypical Chase Utley play in the fourth inning, executing a perfect, borderline illegal takeout slide at second to prevent a Delmon Young GIDP. Every mistake Utley makes, people now ask "Why does he get a pass?" Well, he gets a pass because nobody else on this team does that. Period.

Phillies dismantled by Indians again

Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee combined for an 11.74 ERA in the Phillies' two games vs. the Indians.

The Phillies' offense in both contests (two runs) was outscored by the Indians' first inning (four runs) of Tuesday's game.

Those two sentences tell the story of the Phillies' trip to Cleveland. After being clobbered, 14-2, by the Indians on Tuesday, the Phillies lost another bad game to Cleveland on Wednesday, 6-0.

It's the fourth time the Phillies have been shut out this season.

The Phillies worked 12 three-ball counts and seven walks on Wednesday, yet, could not score. In the two games against the Indians, the Phillies went 3 for 25 (.120) with runners on base. They also finished Wednesday's loss 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Lee, however, pitched much better than what his final line indicates. A night after the Indians connected for seven home runs, Cleveland did its damage with seven infield singles.

With Carlos Santana trucking his way home in the second inning after tagging up on a fly ball, Domonic Brown fired a one-hop throw on the money to beat him there, but Ruiz could not handle it as the Indians took a 1-0 lead.

Lee then allowed three runs on four hits — three of which came in the infield — in the third inning. With two on (via bunt single, walk), Asdrubal Cabrera delivered the only well-struck ball in the third frame for Cleveland, lining a two-run double down the left-field line.

Lee was done after six innings (5 R, 4 ER, 103 P).

The Indians' starters this series, Zack McAllister and Trevor Bauer, came in with eight combined major-league victories. Halladay and Lee entered with 328.

For the Phillies (12-16), the woeful Marlins (8-20) are up next, and they'll be a welcomed sight for four games at Citizens Bank Park. Here are the probable pitching matchups:

Thursday — Alex Sanabia (2-3, 4.85) vs. Kyle Kendrick (2-1, 2.41)

Friday — Ricky Nolasco (2-2, 3.82) vs. Jonathan Pettibone (1-0, 4.35)

Saturday — Jose Fernandez (0-2, 4.50) vs. Cole Hamels (1-3, 4.78)

Sunday — Kevin Slowey (0-2, 2.15) vs. Roy Halladay (2-3, 6.75)

Laynce Nix, not Delmon Young, starts in RF

Delmon Young isn't in the field after all. He'll DH again as the Phillies look for a series split in Cleveland.

Young reached base the first three times he came to the plate Tuesday night. He'll try to do some more damage Wednesday against a wild righty in Trevor Bauer. Bauer walked seven batters in his only start this season and has 20 walks in 21.1 innings at the major-league level.

Laynce Nix is in right field. Nix is 5-for-32 as a starter this season, with one RBI. As a pinch-hitter he's 7-for-13 with two homers and five RBIs.

The lineup is the same as it was Tuesday, save for Nix playing instead of John Mayberry.

The Phillies must work counts tonight. Bauer throws nine pitches, but doesn't command any of them very well. He walked 4.1 batters per nine in the minors after being selected third overall by the Diamondbacks in 2011.

Here are the lineups:

Phillies

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS
2) Michael Young, 3B (67 plate appearances without an XBH)
3) Chase Utley, 2B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B (.341 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI during 11-game hit streak)
5) Delmon Young, DH
6) Domonic Brown, LF
7) Carlos Ruiz, C (1-for-8 since Sunday return)
8) Laynce Nix, RF
9) Ben Revere, CF (leads MLB with 76.7% groundball rate)

Indians

1) Michael Brantley, LF
2) Jason Kipnis, 2B
3) Asdrubal Cabrera, DH
4) Mark Reynolds, 3B
5) Carlos Santana, 1B
6) Ryan Raburn, RF
7) Mike Aviles, SS
8) Yan Gomes, C
9) Drew Stubbs, CF

Both of the Indians' prized free agent acquisitions -- Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn -- missed this series. Swisher with a sore shoulder and Bourn with a finger injury. They will likely both be back on May 14-15 when these teams meet at Citizens Bank Park.

Location, not pitch selection or velocity, hurt Doc

It wasn't overuse of the cutter. It wasn't an inability to crack 90 on the radar gun. It was as simple as really, really bad location on Tuesday from Roy Halladay.

We like to look for tell-tale signs of why a pitcher is in decline, why he goes from one-hitting a team on Wednesday to allowing 1,200 feet of home runs the following Tuesday. Some of Tuesday night's narratives were:

- It's the first time the new Halladay pitched to Carlos Ruiz.

- He used his cutter too much.

- His velocity was down.

Really, though, it was just straight-up piss-poor command. Halladay missed in the middle of the plate 20 times, and that's a conservative count based on this chart.

All three of the two-run homers he allowed were directly in the middle of the plate, just low enough to connect with the sweet spot of the bat. Against the Pirates, he didn't throw a single pitch in the heart of the plate, and even when he missed low-middle, it was just enough inside or outside to miss the sweet spot.

Halladay's decline has been precipitous. He has the highest ERA in the National League over the last calendar year, at 5.59. He also has the NL's highest HR/FB rate over that same span, at 17.8%. That's more than double his previous home run-flyball rate with the Phillies.

Halladay failed to record an out in the fourth inning for the third time this season. He did that just three times in his first 90 starts as a Phillie.

Yes, Doc got back to his now mediocre cutter last night, but that wasn't the root of the problem, that was a reaction to the problem. Halladay couldn't throw consistent strikes with his sinker or changeup and it made little sense to get curveball-happy, as the success with that pitch is derived from its sparing use.

This is just where we are with Halladay, and it's long past time to accept it. He's not even a 4.50 ERA pitcher anymore. He's a guy who might one-hit an opponent or lose a game in the first inning. He's not an in-betweener. He's a volatile fourth or fifth starter. So strange to say.

Lee returns to Cleveland

On Wednesday, Cliff Lee pitches against the Indians for the very first time. He went 83-48 with a 4.01 ERA in Cleveland, where he won the 2008 AL Cy Young award. Lee was 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA that year.

It is only the second time Lee will face a team that traded him. He faced the Mariners at Safeco Field a few months after Seattle traded him in 2010.

The Phillies need a strong performance from Lee tonight. This is a must-win week, with easy games against a struggling Indians squad and then the worst team in baseball. The Phils can't afford to be swept after sweeping their first series of the season, not if they want to gain some semblance of momentum.

On-base machine Delmon Young (.750 OBP!!!) will be in right field tonight.

Halladay, Phillies rocked by Indians' HR party

After three straight promising starts, Roy Halladay threw a clunker on Tuesday night.

And so did Chad Durbin and Raul Valdes.

Halladay lasted just 3 2/3 innings and yielded eight earned runs as the Phillies were steamrolled by the home run-happy Indians, 14-2. Halladay served up three dingers, while Durbin and Valdes had no better luck. The two relievers surrendered two long balls apiece, giving the Indians seven total home runs in a laugher against the Phillies.

Tuesday marked just the fourth time since 1916 that the Phillies had given up seven home runs in a game.

For Halladay, it was trouble out of the gate.

The right-hander, who came in with a 1.71 ERA over his last three outings — all of which were quality starts — allowed a pair of two-run home runs in the opening frame. The first, Halladay left a 2-1 curveball up in the zone to Carlos Santana, who hooked it deep just inside the right-field foul pole. Then, Mark Reynolds saw a 1-0 cutter and lined it for an opposite-field home run to make it 4-0.

Prior to the Indians' four-run outburst in the first, Halladay had given up just four earned runs in his previous 21 innings.

Halladay bounced back with two quick innings, but ran into his exit in the fourth. Lonnie Chisenhall hit another Clevelend two-run shot with no outs before Asdrubal Cabrera ended Halladay's night with a two-run single.

Halladay's poor effort Tuesday was his first start since May of 2000 that he allowed eight or more earned runs in less than four innings.

Two positives for the Phillies — if that's possible in a 14-2 loss — were Delmon Young and Chase Utley.

Young, making his Phillies debut as the team's DH, laced a home run to right-center in his first at-bat of 2013. He finished the night 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch.

Young's bat was never a question mark. His fielding? That's a different story. Charlie Manuel said he'll likely start in right field Wednesday night. The last time Young was a regular rightfielder was in 2007 with the Rays.

Meanwhile, Utley notched his fifth home run of the season and 19th RBI — both team highs.

Cliff Lee takes the mound Wednesday against his former club. It's the second and final game of this short series in Cleveland.

If Lee can't fare significantly better than the Tuesday trio of Halladay, Durbin and Valdes, the Phillies (12-15) will be happy it's a short stay. They come back home to face the 8-19 Marlins for four games.

Delmon Young activated; Ezequiel Carrera DFA'd

Delmon Young has been activated by the Phillies, who designated Ezequiel Carrera for assignment to make room on the 25-man roster. It's a logical time to add Young to the mix, seeing as the Phillies will need a DH for the next two days.

Young rehabbed for a little over a week. He went 11-for-30 (.367) with two doubles, seven strikeouts and, of course, no walks for Clearwater and Lehigh Valley.

The Phillies have gotten very little out of their starting outfield, so even if you're not the biggest Young fan there's no question he'll add depth.

From 2010-12, Young hit .278/.311/.435 with averages of 31 doubles, 17 homers and 83 RBI. He walked 24 times per season and averaged 18 GIDPs.

Young will play right field for this team because he convinced Ruben Amaro and the Phillies' front office that his defensive woes were a result of his discomfort in left field.

From 2007-10, Young -- the first pick in the 2003 draft -- made up for low walk total with high batting averages. He hit .288, .290, .284 and .298, but as his weight increased his production decreased. Young got into better shape over the offseason, and he has numerous weight clauses in his contract.

At the very least he should do some damage against lefties. From 2010-12 he hit .307 with a .500 slugging percentage vs. southpaws.

Phillies lineup (an interesting one...)

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS
2) Michael Young, 3B
3) Chase Utley, 2B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Delmon Young, DH (Phillies debut)
6) Domonic Brown, LF
7) Carlos Ruiz, C (not quite sure why Delmon and Chooch aren't flip-flopped)
8) John Mayberry, RF
9) Ben Revere, CF

Indians lineup (no Nick Swisher)

1) Michael Brantley, LF
2) Jason Kipnis, 2B
3) Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
4) Carlos Santana, C
5) Jason Giambi, DH (.291 BA, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB vs. Halladay)
6) Mark Reynolds, 1B
7) Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B
8) Ryan Raburn, RF
9) Drew Stubbs, CF

Halladay on the hill to open series in Cleveland

After winning three straight road games in New York the Phillies find themselves in Cleveland for a rare two-game interleague series with the Indians. Roy Halladay looks to remain unhittable for a fourth straight start.

Since starting the season with a 14.73 ERA through two starts, Halladay has a 1.71 ERA and .114 opponents' batting average his last three times out. He's coming off a one-hit performance against the Pirates in which he again turned to his curveball to do the work in two-strike counts.

On the season, opponents are 1-for-25 with 17 strikeouts against Doc's curve. The cutters have become a thing of the past -- Halladay now uses the pitch as often as he uses his changeup.

Halladay hasn't faced the Indians since 2009, and the only member of that team still in Cleveland is shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. He has seen some of these Indians over the years, though. Jason Giambi is 22 for 72 (.291) with four homers and seven walks. Nick Swisher has five extra-base hits off Halladay in 20 at-bats.

His counterpart is 6-foot-6 righty Zach McAllister, who has a 3.52 ERA and has averaged close to 8.0 K/9 since being traded to Cleveland from the Yankees in 2010 for Austin Kearns. (Good trade...)

McAllister walked five batters his last time out but doesn't typically struggle with control. He comes right at hitters with a 92-94 mph fastball that he's thrown 73% of the time this season. He also has a slider that comes in at about 78, and he doesn't fully trust his changeup, so he tends to stay with the fastball when ahead against lefties.

The Phillies are rolling right now, offensively and pitching-wise, and need to keep the momentum this week against two bad teams. The Indians are 10-13 and not pitching well, and after these two games come four at home with the woeful Marlins, who just placed Giancarlo Stanton on the DL Tuesday.

At the very least, this should be a 4-2 week for the Phillies. That would put them at 16-16 as they head out west for three at the Giants and four at the Diamondbacks.

As bad as April may have appeared, the Phillies are a mere game behind the Nationals and just 4.5 behind Atlanta, which snapped a four-game losing streak on Monday.

Prominent Phils prospects struggling at Triple A

There was plenty of excitement surrounding the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs this season. Many of the Phillies’ top prospects were set to start the year with their Triple A affiliate, coming together to form a team of highly touted, highly skilled players.

The first month has been rocky.

The ‘Pigs are 10-13, and four of the more well-known players have struggled in April.

Tyler Cloyd, who went 15-1 with a 2.26 ERA last season at Double A and Triple A, is 0-3 with a 6.67 ERA in five starts. He had pinpoint command last season and needs it – whether he’s at Lehigh Valley or Citizens Bank Park -- to compete with a mid-80s fastball. This year he’s walked 4.0 batters per nine.

Darin Ruf, who hit .317 with a 1.028 OPS, 38 homers, 32 doubles and 104 RBIs, is at .244, and that’s after an enormous offensive night. He set an Iron Pigs record on Sunday with 12 total bases in one game. Ruf was 4 for 5 with two homers and two doubles. Hopefully that was a clear sign of Ruf busting out of a slump. He didn't actually heat up last season until the summer months arrived.

Tommy Joseph, acquired from the Giants for Hunter Pence and viewed as the catcher of the future, is hitting .204 with a .259 OBP and eight passed balls in 17 games.

Ethan Martin, the former first-round righty the Phils obtained from the Dodgers for Shane Victorino at last year’s deadline, has struggled more than ever to throw strikes. He has 16 walks and an 8.31 ERA in 17 1/3 innings.

Obviously, it’s only a month into the season and at the minor-league level numbers aren’t as important as the positive signs players display. But there’s no getting past eight passed balls or inconsistency to throw strikes. Joseph and Martin certainly have enough time to right the ship. They both have the raw tools and pedigree. It’s just a matter of putting it together.

Ideally, two of these players are ready to contribute at the major-league level in the next two seasons.

Carlos Ruiz's return comes at the perfect time

The Phillies' offense finally clicked over the weekend in New York and the starting pitching has been excellent the last two cycles through the rotation, making this the perfect time for Carlos Ruiz to return to the field.

From an offensive standpoint, the upgrade from Erik Kratz and Humberto Quintero is enormous. Kratz and Quintero combined to hit .209 with a .567 OPS, 168 points lower than league-average. Kratz drove in just 4 of 43 baserunners. He struggled to block balls -- Kratz had just one passed ball, but four wild pitches came with him behind the plate and on several other occasions he failed to cleanly field pitches.

Ruiz last season hit .325/.394/.540. Only 13 catchers since 1900 and four since 2000 have had that high a batting average, OBP and slugging percentage in a season. Ruiz was an elite performer with runners in scoring position, as he's been throughout his career.

Even if Chooch doesn't reach those high offensive levels again this season, he'll contribute with doubles power and plate discipline. He has 179 walks and a .380 OBP since 2009.

Behind the plate, Ruiz's impact is immeasurable. Say what you will about game-calling and the management of pitchers -- all of these starters routinely praise Ruiz's acumen behind the plate and their words mean more than any from an armchair analyst. And blocking balls has always been his best skill, long before he became an offensive threat.

It's an exciting time to be getting Chooch back. The Phillies desperately need to recapture the identity they had in 2010 and 2011 and, if last week was any indication, the starting staff is well on its way.

Phils sweep Mets as Hamels gets first win

The Phillies won for the first time this season in a game started by Cole Hamels with the 5-1 victory over the Mets at CitiField on Sunday afternoon.

Headed into Sunday's game it was easy to decipher why Hamels hadn't notched a win. With all of 10 runs of support while he was on the mound in the first five games, Hamels couldn't afford many mistakes. But with five runs highlighted by Ryan Howard's pinch double in the game-breaking seventh, Hamels had some wiggle room.

Though he allowed just two hits and a run in six innings, Hamels walked six. Fortunately, Hamels struck out eight and was able to strand 14 runners. Meanwhile, the bullpen had his back, working three shutout innings to preserve the series sweep at CitiField.

Back to Howard: His double pushed his hitting streak to 10 games. Over the last five games Howard has 10 RBIs. During the hitting streak, Howard is 13 for 37 (.351) with three doubles and a pair of homers.

Additionally, Carlos Ruiz went 1 for 4 with a double in his season debut. Maybe he gets the credit for helping Hamels focus after walking six?

Next, the Phillies get a day off on Monday before opening a short, two-game series in Cleveland. Roy Halladay (2-2, 5.08) will start the opener.

Game 26: Chooch returns

Carlos Ruiz was reinstated on Sunday morning from his 25-game suspension as the Phillies look to sweep the three-game series against the Mets.

In Ruiz's absence, the Phillies catchers combined to bat .209 with a .242 on-base percentage and 21 strikeouts in 91 plate appearances. With Ruiz batting .303 over the last three seasons, including a career-best .325 last season, the Phillies badly need his return. In 114 games in 2012, Ruiz hit 16 homers with 68 RBIs and a robust .935 OPS.

Ruiz went 2 for 14 with a homer and a double in four games between Single-A Clearwater and Double-A Reading. He closed out his minor-league tuneup with a 1-for-2 showing on Saturday night for Reading.

Meanwhile, to clear space on the roster for Ruiz, the Phillies announced that Humberto Quintero had been designated for assignment. Erik Kratz, who handled the bulk of the catching with Ruiz serving his suspension, will remain with the team as the backup catcher.

Here's how the Phillies line up in Chooch's return:

1.) Jimmy Rollins, ss
2.) Kevin Frandsen, 1b
3.) Chase Utley, 2b
4.) Michael Young, 3b
5.) Carlos Ruiz,c
6.) Dom Brown, rf
7.) John Mayberry, cf
8.) Freddy Galvis, lf
9.) Cole Hamels, p

Ben Revere gets a third straight day off to rest his sore quad. Or maybe it's to get John Mayberry in the lineup against Mets' lefty Jonathan Niese. In 29 career plate appearances, Mayberry has nine hits with three homers.

Meanwhile, manager Charlie Manuel is giving lefty slugger Ryan Howard the day off against the lefty pitcher. Kevin Frandsen gets his secondt start of the season at first base and just his seventh appearance at first base in his career.

As long as guys are getting looks at different positions, Manuel decided to put Freddy Galvis in left field for the fourth time this season.

Let's hope everyone brought all their gloves.

Phillies pound Marcum, Mets 9-4

The Phillies jumped all over a debuting Shaun Marcum in the third inning and continued their offensive onslaught in the fifth against reliever Robert Carson, blasting the Mets, 9-4, to take their second road series of the season and improve to 11-14.

Dom Brown hit a three-run homer and John Mayberry followed with a solo shot against Carson. The Phillies had 12 hits and had the opportunity to score more, as they left seven men on base.

Jon Pettibone earned his first big-league win, even if he wasn't overly sharp. He allowed nine baserunners and three runs over five innings.

Michael Young had three more hits and is up to .353. Ryan Howard flew out to the warning track twice.

Two members of a beleagured bullpen had scoreless outings. Raul Valdes was perfect over two innings with a pair of strikeouts. Chad Durbin followed with a 1-2-3 frame of his own.

Tomorrow is Cole Hamels vs. Jon Niese at 1:10 p.m. on PHL17. The Phillies look for their first sweep of the season.

Pettibone takes another turn as Phils look to make it two in a row

Jonathan Pettibone gets a second turn as the Phillies look to make it two in a row over the Mets on Saturday afternoon.

The right-handed pitching prospect was solid in his big-league debut, allowing a pair of runs on six hits and no walks in 5 1/3 innings in the Phils' win over the Pirates. Pettibone will face the Mets with a little bit of a different lineup behind him than the last time he took the mound.

Once again, centerfielder Ben Revere is on the bench to nurse an achy quad muscle. John Mayberry will play centerfield.

Here's a look at the rest of the Phillies' lineup:

1.) Jimmy Rollins, ss
2.) Chase Utley, 2b
3.) Michael Young, 3b
4.) Ryan Howard, 1b
5.) Dom Brown, lf
6.) John Mayberry, cf
7.) Laynce Nix, rf
8.) Humberto Quintero, c
9.) Jonathan Pettibone, p

The Phillies will go up against the Mets' Shawn Marcum. Five of the players in the Phils' lineup have faced Marcum, including Howard who has three homers, three walks and seven RBIs off him in 11 plate appearances. Chase Utley also has a homer off Marcum in seven plate appearances.

Kendrick brilliant again in win over Mets

Kyle Kendrick had another great start Friday night at Citi Field, notching his second career shutout in a 4-0 Phillies win over the Mets.

Kendrick (2-1, 2.41) allowed just three hits and one walk. He's been lights out in his last seven road starts, pitching to a 1.10 ERA. This is the 31st time in his last 45 starts he's allowed two earned runs or fewer.

The Phils scored all four runs in the sixth inning, when Michael Young drove in a run with men on the corners and nobody out, then Ryan Howard followed with a three-run homer to center. It was Howard's fourth hit and fourth home run against Dillon Gee.

Over the last nine games, Jimmy Rollins is hitting .306, Chase Utley is hitting .344, Howard is at .370 and Young .310. But until tonight, they hadn't really been driving in runs.

The Phillies' rotation has been excellent the last cycle through. They have a 2.04 ERA, but this was the first win.

The win is the Phillies' eighth in their last 11 games at Citi Field. 

Revere out again; Utley slides back to 2-hole

A sore quad will keep Ben Revere out for a second straight game Friday night in New York. John Mayberry will make his first appearance of the season in center field against Mets right-hander Dillon Gee.

Chase Utley slides back into the two-hole, where he homered on Wednesday. Michael Young splits up Utley and Ryan Howard. The Phillies have four lefties, three righties and a switch-hitter in the lineup against Gee.

The Phillies have hit Gee hard over the years and desperately need a win. Another loss would give them their first 15-loss April in 11 seasons.

Phillies' lineup

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS (7 for 11 off Gee)
2) Chase Utley, 2B
3) Michael Young, 3B (4 for 5, two HR vs. Gee)
4) Ryan Howard, 1B (3 for 9, three HR vs. Gee)
5) Domonic Brown, LF
6) John Mayberry, CF (4 for 11, two HR vs. Gee)
7) Laynce Nix, RF
8) Erik Kratz, C
9) Kyle Kendrick, P (two ER or less in 30 of last 44 starts)

And for the Mets

1) Mike Baxter, RF
2) Ruben Tejada, SS
3) Daniel Murphy, 2B
4) David Wright, 3B
5) Lucas Duda, LF
6) John Buck, C
7) Ike Davis, 1B
8) Jordany Valdespin, CF
9) Dillon Gee, P

Gee’s ERA on the road is over 14.00, but at home it’s just 0.75 this season.

The Phillies have won seven of their last 10 games at Citi Field.