Philadelphia Phillies (Padilla) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (Batista)
I watched last night as the DBacks pretty mush gave up, they are a mere shadow of the team that won the World Series while the Phillies are actually playing like a team that is hungry and ready to unseat the Braves. We are going to be playing the Phils and I will give you some good reasons why.
The Phillies send out their ace in Vincente Padilla he has been nothing short of spectacular so far this year despite his 3-3 record. He has an ERA of 2.85 and a very solid WHIP of 1.02. He is coming off of a less than impressive start but has shown to follow up a bad start with a solid one and this pitiful Arizona team should be a perfect team to rebound against. He has faced them just one time last year and pitched a gem a complete game shutout allowing only 2 hits with 7 strike outs and 2 walks.
The Diamondbacks counter with Miguel Batista the one shining spot in a less than perfect rotation. He has a record of 1-1 in 4 starts this year with an ERA of 3.06 and a WHIP of 1.33. The one problem I see for him here is he didn't fare well against the Phillies last year allowing 6 earned runs in 5 innings inn his last start against them and with the pittiful bullpen he has backing him could be trouble as he averaged just 6.5 innings a start this year and this is a much improved Phillies team. He is 2-2 when he faces the Phils with an ERA of 4.46 and a WHIP of 1.514.
The Phillies offense is averaging 5.4 runs a game when facing right handers while allowing their opponents to plate just 3.9 runs a game. They have commited 17 errors in 32 games this year. The bullpen has been solid especially on the road where they have an ERA of 3.33 and a WHIP of 1.228, in 46 innings on the road they have allowed just 17 earned runs and walked just 17. Their one Achilles heal is Jose Mesa he is a Jekyle and Hyde but with Padilla in the game I don't see him being a factor in this game.
Arizona has a problem getting men to the home plate leaving a whopping 253 men on base in just 32 games, they are scoring just 3.9 runs a game against right handed starters while allowing the opposition to score 5.2. The bullpen was used up in the series with the Braves and I see that being a problem in this game. They have a 4.67 ERA at home and a whopping 1.593 WHIP giving up 62 hits in just 54 innings at Bank One.
Bottom line is we are getting a strong pitcher with a good offense and bullpen against a team that is looking like they are very low on confidence and can't get any men to home plate.
Playing the Philadelphia Phillies -110
I watched last night as the DBacks pretty mush gave up, they are a mere shadow of the team that won the World Series while the Phillies are actually playing like a team that is hungry and ready to unseat the Braves. We are going to be playing the Phils and I will give you some good reasons why.
The Phillies send out their ace in Vincente Padilla he has been nothing short of spectacular so far this year despite his 3-3 record. He has an ERA of 2.85 and a very solid WHIP of 1.02. He is coming off of a less than impressive start but has shown to follow up a bad start with a solid one and this pitiful Arizona team should be a perfect team to rebound against. He has faced them just one time last year and pitched a gem a complete game shutout allowing only 2 hits with 7 strike outs and 2 walks.
The Diamondbacks counter with Miguel Batista the one shining spot in a less than perfect rotation. He has a record of 1-1 in 4 starts this year with an ERA of 3.06 and a WHIP of 1.33. The one problem I see for him here is he didn't fare well against the Phillies last year allowing 6 earned runs in 5 innings inn his last start against them and with the pittiful bullpen he has backing him could be trouble as he averaged just 6.5 innings a start this year and this is a much improved Phillies team. He is 2-2 when he faces the Phils with an ERA of 4.46 and a WHIP of 1.514.
The Phillies offense is averaging 5.4 runs a game when facing right handers while allowing their opponents to plate just 3.9 runs a game. They have commited 17 errors in 32 games this year. The bullpen has been solid especially on the road where they have an ERA of 3.33 and a WHIP of 1.228, in 46 innings on the road they have allowed just 17 earned runs and walked just 17. Their one Achilles heal is Jose Mesa he is a Jekyle and Hyde but with Padilla in the game I don't see him being a factor in this game.
Arizona has a problem getting men to the home plate leaving a whopping 253 men on base in just 32 games, they are scoring just 3.9 runs a game against right handed starters while allowing the opposition to score 5.2. The bullpen was used up in the series with the Braves and I see that being a problem in this game. They have a 4.67 ERA at home and a whopping 1.593 WHIP giving up 62 hits in just 54 innings at Bank One.
Bottom line is we are getting a strong pitcher with a good offense and bullpen against a team that is looking like they are very low on confidence and can't get any men to home plate.
Playing the Philadelphia Phillies -110
