Friday, April 22, 2011
Posted: 2 p.m.
CSNPhilly.com
Phillies (13-6) at Padres (8-12), 8:30 p.m. on CSN
Starting Pitchers
Phillies: Joe Blanton (0-1, 7.27)Blanton is coming off his finest start of the young season, having thrown seven strong innings (two runs, seven hits) in Mondays loss to the Brewers. The righty made two starts vs. San Diego last season, going 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA.
Padres:Tim Stauffer (0-1, 3.27)On Monday in Chicago, Stauffer limited the Cubs to four hits in seven scoreless innings. The Phils have torched him for 17 runs in 9 13 innings in his career, but neither one of his two career starts vs. Philly has come in the last three years.
Previous games
The Phillies rode a sensational effort from Cole Hamels to their second straight shutout in the series, 2-0, against the Padres on Friday night. Hamels worked eight scoreless innings and Ryan Madson finished off the Phils fifth shutout of the season. Ryan Howards two-run triple supplied the offense for the Phils.
Head-to-head
The Phils went 5-2 against the Padres last season, including a three-game sweep at Petco Park last August. The Phillies have won 12 of their last 14 games vs. San Diego and nine straight games at Petco Park.
Whos hot?
Lefty Antonio Basatardo also has been sharp, pitching eight scoreless innings this season. Placido Polanco has hit safely in 16 of 19 games this season, including a two-hit effort in Thursday's series opener. Madson has allowed just one run in eight innings this season.
MLB
Storylines
Howard has destroyed Stauffer throughout his career, going 4-for-5 with two homers and six RBIs against him. On the other side of the coin, San Diegos Cameron Maybin is 5-for-13 (.385) lifetime against Blanton.The Phillies havent scored more than four runs in any of their last 11 games.Can Blanton string together two straight quality outings after struggling early on this season?
Sound off
On a scale of 1-10, how concerned are you about the Phillies offense?
Related: Hamels fuels Phils' latest shutoutMinor league report