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Lee dazzles, Phils win for best 10-game stretch of '13

It hasn't always been pretty, but the Phillies are quietly riding their best 10-game stretch of the season.

After beating the Marlins on Wednesday night, 3-0, the Phillies are now 7-3 over their last 10 games heading into their first meeting with the Nationals of 2013.

Cliff Lee was brilliant in clinching his club a series victory in Miami after the trip started on such a sour note. Lee threw his first complete game of the season by shutting out the Marlins (13-34). The lefty gave up just three hits, two of which were infield singles, while striking out five. He threw 115 pitches, 85 for strikes, to earn his 12th career shutout and lower his 2013 ERA to 2.48.

Out of Lee's 10 starts thus far, eight have been quality starts.

The offense could have gone for more than three runs, but the bats did produce 12 hits a night after they banged out 15.

Delmon Young hit a solo home run to nearly the same exact spot he homered in Tuesday night's win. Twenty-one of the Phillies' last 22 long balls have now been of the solo variety.

Domonic Brown tripled home his 24th RBI of the season. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard (25 each) are the only Phillies with more runs batted in.

Jimmy Rollins, Delmon Young, Howard and Lee all collected two hits apiece. Dating back to May 8, Rollins is 18 for his last 54 (.333).

The Phillies (23-24) are 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Braves (28-18), who have won six straight. The Nationals (24-23), on the other hand, have lost eight of their last 12 games and sit one game above the Phillies.

Here are the probable piching matchups for the Phillies' three-game set in Washington, D.C. this weekend:

Friday — Kyle Kendrick (4-2, 2.82) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (7-2, 1.62)

Saturday — Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.00) vs. Dan Haren (4-5, 5.54)

Sunday — Cole Hamels (1-7, 4.45) vs. Stephen Strasburg (2-5, 2.66)

Utley out again as Phillies close series in Miami

Chase Utley (sore rib cage) is out again tonight as the Phillies conclude their three-game series with the Marlins in South Florida.

Freddy Galvis gets another start at second base. Galvis, who is hitting .345 in May, has started four straight games.

With Utley out, Ben Revere and Michael Young occupy the second and third spots in the order, respectively. Revere has had three hits out of the two-hole in two of his last three starts to raise his batting line to a season-high .260/.302/.298. For the first time all season, his OPS is .600.

Without two key starters in Utley and Carlos Ruiz, the Phils will need Delmon Young to continue to produce as he did Tuesday night, when he went 2-for-4 with a homer, double and two RBI.

Phillies lineup

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS
2) Ben Revere, CF
3) Michael Young, 3B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Delmon Young, RF
6) Domonic Brown, LF (11 XBH in last 94 PA)
7) Freddy Galvis, 2B
8) Erik Kratz, C
9) Cliff Lee, P

Marlins lineup

1) Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
2) Placido Polanco, 3B
3) Derek Dietrich, 2B
4) Marcell Ozuna, RF
5) Justin Ruggiano, CF
6) Chris Coghlan, LF
7) Nick Green, 1B
8) Jeff Mathis, C
9) Kevin Slowey

Lee is 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA, but somehow hasn’t faced the Marlins in any of the nine games the Phillies have played with them.

Slowey is 1-4 with a 3.44 ERA. He’s allowed 22 baserunners and 11 earned runs over his last 7 2/3 innings. He’s given up just one run in 12 1/3 innings against the Phillies this season.

Utley unlikely to play tonight; DL stint possible

Chase Utley will almost certainly miss tonight's game and it's probably safe to expect him to miss a few weeks, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Utley will undergo an MRI either Tuesday or Wednesday on his sore rib cage.

Utley felt a burning sensation when taking batting practice Tuesday and was scratched from the lineup. As Salisbury explains, oblique injuries are taken quite seriously because of all the twisting involved in swinging and throwing. Players often end up on the DL when these types of ailments pop up to avoid further injuring the oblique/rib cage.

Just when the Phillies looked like the healthiest team in the NL East, a rash of injuries began. Carlos Ruiz pulled a hammy Sunday and was placed on the DL, where he joined Mike Adams. Ryan Howard isn't 100% but had a good game Tuesday. Same with Delmon Young. Now Utley is expected to miss time.

Might this open the door for Darin Ruf? The Phils already have a utility infielder in Kevin Frandsen even if they start Freddy Galvis at second, so adding another bat regardless of position would probably be the best way to go.

Amaro on Roy Halladay

Ruben Amaro addressed the injury statuses of two other Phillies to CSN prior to speaking at Wednesday's "Impact of Sports" conference at the Linc.

“I had a long talk with Roy [Tuesday] and, really, it was the best-case scenario," Amaro said. "For a guy who’s pitched as much as he's pitched, who has had a little bit of history now with some shoulder and back issues and changes in his labrum, for him to come away with that operation with just -- he does have some changes in there -- but for him to come away with no muscle detachment, the doctor didn’t have to tack anything down. Basically, he did a cleanout and did some things in the shoulder that will hopefully loosen [Halladay] up a bit.

“For him to be in that position, it’s kind of the best-case scenario. I’m not sure if he's going to come back and be an effective pitcher for us, but if Roy can, if it’s humanly possible, he'll be able to do it. We hope he can come back in late August, early September, and help our rotation.”

Amaro on Carlos Ruiz

“Chooch is in the best shape of his career. He looks great, he worked very hard to be prepared and to hit the ground running after his suspension. And yet he turns the corner at second base and gets a hamstring pull.

"Hopefully it’s not more than a month, but we have to be careful with the hamstring, especially a guy in his position. Hopefully he'll be out 3-4 weeks and we'll get him back and get him going.”

On several occasions Amaro referred to the injury issues as “the luck of the draw.”

“Thats the bizarre thing, he hasn't,” Amaro said when asked if Ruiz has a history of hamstring issues.

“Chase never had a history of any rib cage issues and Chooch hasn’t had any issues with his hamstring. Just bizarre things that happen over the course of an athlete's life."

Bats come alive, Phillies beat lowly Marlins

In his return to the lineup, Ryan Howard had a big night, as did Delmon Young. Behind a solid outing from Tyler Cloyd and a whopping 15 hits, the Phillies rolled to a 7-3 victory over the Marlins in Miami.

Back after a two-game absence, Howard said before the game that his knee felt better. At least on Tuesday night, it sure looked like it did.

After grounding out in his first two at-bats, Howard followed with three base knocks in his final three plate appearances.

His first hit, a single, eventually led to a run and the Phillies regaining the lead, 2-1, in the sixth inning. Up again the next inning with the bases loaded and none out, Howard scorched a liner into right field to score two. In the eighth, a two-out single plated Ben Revere to extend the Phils' lead to 7-2.

With a 3-for-5 evening, Howard lifted his average to .256 and his three RBIs tied him with Chase Utley for a team-leading 25.

Perhaps just as refreshing as Howard's big night back was the fact that everyone joined the party. Revere was also 3 for 5 and Rollins and Delmon Young also added two hits apiece. Every regular position player had a least one hit.

Delmon Young gave the Phillies their first run with his second home run of the season in the fourth inning. It was the first time in 16.1 innings that the team scored off Marlins rookie Jose Fernandez.

In his second start of the season with the big club, Cloyd was impressive over seven innings. He earned the win en route to holding the Fish to two runs and scattering eight hits while punching out five and walking two. He even worked a walk at the plate.

The Phillies' production with runners in scoring position still was worrisome. They finished the night 4 for 16 and left a dozen men on base.

One such troublesome moment came in the first inning, when Jimmy Rollins — on third with one out — was thrown out at the plate after a soft Michael Young ground ball. In the second, Freddy Galvis failed to score from first on a two-out double by Erik Kratz. Cloyd subsequently grounded out.

Utley scratched late
Originally slated to bat second and play second, Chase Utley was a late scratch from Tuesday's lineup.

After feeling discomfort in his right side during batting practice, he was replaced in the starting nine by Freddy Galvis. Utley will be re-evaluated Wednesday.

The 34-year-old second baseman had played in 44 of the Phillies' first 45 games in 2013.

Desperately needing a win, Phils face Fernandez

There's probably more randomness in baseball than in any other sport, and you hear that a lot to explain why teams like the Marlins or Astros win games they shouldn't. But Miami is now 4-4 against the Phillies and 9-28 against everyone else, which is a disgrace for the Phillies and something they need to take pride in correcting immediately.

Avoiding an ugly series loss tonight will be tough, as the Phils go up against Jose Fernandez. Fernandez has a 0.00 ERA in 13 innings vs. the Phillies, and has held them to a .071 batting average. Against all other teams, Fernandez has a 4.91 ERA and .261 opponents' average. He's human. He's not Clayton Kershaw. He's a 20-year-old righty with a hard fastball and a sharp curve that the Phillies just haven't been able to touch.

Two of the Phils' three hits off Fernandez came from the bat of Freddy Galvis, who also walked and made two hard-hit outs against him. Strangely, Galvis is not in tonight's lineup.

Why not give Galvis a day in right field? Delmon Young has been horrendous this season -- two telling stats with him are that he's 2-for-19 when leading off an innings and has stranded 18 of the 21 runners on base during his at-bats. He's not getting on base or driving in runs. He's useless right now.

Opposing Fernandez is Tyler Cloyd, who makes his second start of the season. Cloyd impressed two weekends ago in Arizona, holding the D-backs to two runs over 6 1/3 innings. He should feel right at home in Miami, because the lineup he's facing is essentially a Triple-A lineup.

Phillies lineup

1) Jimmy Rollins, SS
2) Chase Utley, 2B
3) Michael Young, 3B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Delmon Young, RF (hitting .163 since debut)
6) Domonic Brown, LF
7) Ben Revere, CF
8) Erik Kratz, C
9) Tyler Cloyd, P

Marlins lineup

1) Juan Pierre, LF
2) Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
3) Derek Dietrich, 2B
4) Marcell Ozuna, RF
5) Chris Coghlan, CF
6) Greg Dobbs, 1B
7) Placido Polanco, 3B
8) Rob Brantly, C
9) Jose Fernandez, P

Hamels falls to 1-7 in another tough-luck loss

Cole Hamels had just six losses in 31 starts last season.

In 2013, he has seven defeats through 10 starts.

It has been that kind of year for Hamels. It's also been that kind of year for the unpredictable Phillies.

Hamels pieced together another respectable outing, throwing six innings of two-run ball against the last-place (13-32) Marlins, while striking out 10. The offense, however, mustered only one run in a 5-1 loss to Miami on Monday night.

The Phillies (21-24) have now lost three straight games to the Marlins and are 4-4 against the NL East doormats thus far.

The Phillies are 1-9 in games started by Hamels. In the left-hander's last eight starts, the offense has scored a total of 13 runs with him in the game. In his 62 2/3 innings this season: 20 runs.

Hamels finished with 89 pitches, 67 for strikes. He was lifted for a pinch hitter and a golden opportunity for the Phillies to score in the top of the seventh inning, but it went wasted. Down 2-1, the Phillies put runners on the corners with one out. Laynce Nix relieved Hamels and flew out to shallow right field. Jimmy Rollins then grounded out to second to complete the failed threat.

CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury tweeted this after the loss: "Very unusual. Cole Hamels would not speak to reporters tonight."

Can you blame Hamels for being frustrated?

Domonic Brown was the only source of offense. He hit his eighth home run of the season, giving him the team high.

Tuesday does not get easier. Next up for the Phillies is Miami's Jose Fernandez (2-2, 3.48 ERA). Last time the 20-year-old saw the Phillies (May 4), he posted this line: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 9 K. Fernandez will be opposed by Tyler Cloyd.

Phillies must finally take advantage of Marlins

With two swings on Sunday, the Phillies earned a thrilling win reminiscent of the 2008-11 period and some positive momentum heading into an eight-game road trip.

Aroldis Chapman was the fourth closer the Phillies have tied the game against or beaten in the ninth inning this season. It was the third time in two weeks (Sergio Romo, Heath Bell). A win brought them to within two games of .500, and they have a chance to go over .500 for the first time this season if they can manage a sweep in Miami.

The Phillies are one of very few teams that has yet to take full advantage of the Marlins' ineptitude. Miami is 3-4 (.429) against the Phillies and 9-28 (.243) against everyone else.

Cole Hamels (1-6, 4.61) starts the opener against Alex Sanabia, who has the worst xFIP in baseball and second-worst WAR among starting pitchers. Hitting the medicore righty shouldn't be a difficult task, even with Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz sidelined.

Hamels is having major control issues this season. He has 11 more walks than he had last year at this point, and 19 fewer strikeouts. He's already had games of four, five and six walks. He's dominated the Marlins, though, holding them to a .149 batting average. Hamels has a 1.93 ERA against the Fish in two starts, but no wins.

The only player in Miami's lineup who is an extra-base hit threat is rookie Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna went 8-for-16 with four doubles and a homer in four games against the Phils earlier this month. He's the only Marlin with an OPS over .800 in May.

Getting ahead early is always important, but especially so against a team as weak offensively as Miami, which ranks 30th in baseball in runs, batting average, OBP and slugging. The Marlins have just two wins all season when behind after four innings.

The Phillies haven't done much early scoring this season. They've led after the first inning just nine times all season, and lost four of those games.

Tonight's result is made more important by the fact that Jose Fernandez is on the hill tomorrow. Fernandez has a 0.00 ERA and .071 opponents' batting average vs. the Phils, and a 4.91 ERA and .261 mark against all other foes.

Phillies

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

Marlins (can't think of any lineup that has ever looked worse than this)

1) Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
2) Placido Polanco, 3B
3) Derek Dietrich, 2B
4) Marcell Ozuna, RF
5) Justin Ruggiano, CF
6) Chris Coghlan, LF
7) Nick Green, 1B (seriously)
8) Jeff Mathis, C
9) Alex Sanabia, P

Roster move

Mike Adams was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to May 11, meaning he can come off the DL on Sunday. Humberto Quintero's contract was selected from Lehigh Valley.

Galvis, Kratz homer Phillies past Reds in ninth

Freddy Galvis and Erik Kratz nailed back-to-back home runs off the fire-throwing Aroldis Chapman to boost the Phillies from a 2-1 deficit in the ninth inning, to a miraculous 3-2 win over the Reds.

Yes, you just read that sentence correctly.

The scuffling Phillies offense from Saturday carried into Sunday, but after breaking a 16-inning scoreless streak with a run in the eighth, Kratz and Galvis' heroics gave the Phillies (21-23) an improbable win and impressive series victory against the Reds (26-18).

Jonathan Pettibone continues to be an outstanding fill-in for the Phillies' rotation. On Sunday, he received a no-decision but went a career-high seven innings and allowed just one earned run. The Phillies are 5-1 in games that he has started and he has gone five or more innings and has given up three or fewer runs in all six of his outings.

Antonio Bastardo threw a scoreless ninth inning to notch his second win, while Justin De Fratus pitched a scoreless eighth.

The Phillies have not lost a series since May 1 and have won five of their last seven games against three teams with a combined record of 76-54 (.585 winning percentage).

Next up is three games in Miami against the Marlins before the Phillies' first series of the season with the Nationals.

Injury updates
Carlos Ruiz, who left Sunday's win in the top of the third inning with a hamstring strain, will undergo an MRI on Monday to learn the extent of the injury. Ryan Howard received a surprising day off agaisnt a righty starter (Homer Bailey) and it was because the Phillies' first baseman is dealing with a sore left knee. He will have a precautionary MRI on Monday and then fly to Miami to rejoin the team. When asked if he thought Howard would start Monday, Charlie Manuel said (per CSNPhilly.com's John Finger and John Gonzalez), “I don’t think so. I’ll be surprised, really, if he does.”

Here are the probable pitching matchups for the three-game set in Miami:

Monday -- Cole Hamels (1-6, 4.61) vs. Alex Sanabia (2-6, 5.00)

Tuesday -- Tyler Cloyd (0-0, 2.84) vs. Jose Fernandez (2-2, 3.48)

Wednesday -- Cliff Lee (4-2, 2.83) vs. Kevin Slowey (1-4, 3.44)

Phillies look to redeem themselves vs. Bailey

The Phillies can win a series and make it a successful week against the two Ohio teams if they’re victorious Sunday.

They’ll need to quickly put Saturday’s 10-0 embarrassment out of their minds. It was the sixth time they’ve been shut out this season, which is the most shutouts of the Phillies through their first 43 games since 1985, according to CSN’s Reuben Frank. The Phils were lifeless and again failed to hit junkballer Bronson Arroyo.

On Sunday, they’ll face a more traditional starter in Homer Bailey.

Bailey (2-3, 3.51) had his best game of the season, and probably his career, on April 16 vs. the Phillies. He pitched eight shutout innings and struck out 10 men on just 89 pitches. He became the third pitcher in major-league history to toss that many scoreless innings with that many strikeouts in fewer than 90 pitches; Jim Bunning (1964) and David Cone (1999) did it in their perfect games.

Bailey has a mid-90s fastball, a slider with tremendous vertical break, a curveball and splitter. Last season, when Bailey truly came into his own, his slider had more vertical movement than any pitcher in the majors, according to Baseball Prospectus.

Current Phillies are hitting .255 with a measly .330 slugging percentage off the hard-throwing Bailey, and the only player with a homer (Ryan Howard) is out of the lineup. The Phils are loading up with six lefties since right-handed hitters have batted .221/.282/.284 off Bailey this season.

Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.41) looks to continue his impressive work as an emergency starter. His performance earlier in the week against the Indians drew rave reviews from teammates.

Pettibone has allowed no more than three runs in any start. Where most young pitchers struggle – in high-pressure situations with men on base – he has thrived thus far. Opponents are hitting .172 against him with runners in scoring position and .178 with runners on, period.

The Reds are a dynamic offensive team, though, so Pettibone’s high strand rate will surely come into play Sunday. Can he afford to put Shin-Soo Choo and others at the top on base and get away with it? Hard to imagine with Joey Votto and Jay Bruce raking the way they are.

Votto hasn’t hit for much power in 2013 but has two towering home runs in this series. Bruce had a terrible April and leads the NL with 58 strikeouts, but is really heating up now. He has a nine-game hit streak and is 12 for 25 over his last six, with five doubles, two homers and nine RBIs.

Bruce continues to torture Phillies pitching. Since 2010 he’s hit .357 against them with eight doubles, nine homers and 28 RBIs in 113 at-bats.

Freddy Galvis has finally cracked the lineup – he’ll play third base and bat eighth. Michael Young makes his first start of the season away from the hot corner, subbing in for Howard at first.

Ben Revere is finally playing again after spending the week on the bench.

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

Phillies' bats silenced by Arroyo, Reds

The Phillies' offense was no match for Cincinnati's Bronson Arroyo on Saturday as the Reds rolled to a 10-0 victory over the Phillies at the Bank.

Arroyo scattered five hits and walked just two batters in his 7 2/3 innings. He struck out six and didn't face much of a challenge from the Phillies. Though Dom Brown was credited with a double, he was thrown out attempting to stretch it to a triple, the Phillies didn't get a runner into scoring position against Arroyo until the eighth inning when Jimmy Rollins walked and was allowed to advance two bases because of indifference.  

As a result, the Phillies were shutout for the sixth time this season. They also have allowed the opposition to reach double-digits in runs six times this season and have failed to post 10 runs in any game this season.

Meanwhile, Kyle Kendrick fell to 4-2 after allowing four runs on eight hits and four walks in six innings. The Reds got on the board in the seocnd inning on a three-run homer from No. 8-hole hitter, Ryan Hanigan. They added another run in the sixth before roughing up relievers B.J. Rosenberg, Jeremy Horst and Phillippe Aumont for four more runs in the eighth inning.

In the ninth, Joey Votto homered off Chad Durbin to round out the scoring for the Reds.

The Phillies will try to take the series on Sunday afternoon when Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.41) takes on Homer Bailey (2-3, 3.51). Pettibone will try to become the first Phillies' starting pitcher to go 4-0 to open his career since 1999 when Randy Wolf went 5-0.

Rehab updates

Pitcher Carlos Zambrano made his first appearance in an extended spring game in Clearwater on Saturday, turning in two scoreless innings. Zambrano allowed a hit and had five strikeouts on 44 pitches. 

Additionally, lefty starter John Lannan threw a bullpen session on Saturday and is expected to do another one on Monday. If all goes well, Lannan is expected to throw live batting practice in the next two weeks.

Game 43: Phillies on a roll

Don't look now, but it seems as if the Phillies are on a roll of sorts. Yeah, yeah, they are a flawed team with a pile of issues with the offense, middle relief, etc., etc. However, The Phillies have won four out of their last five games and six out of their last 10.

Better yet, the Phillies are winning games against Arizona, San Francisco, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Those teams are in first or second place in its divisions.

In looking to make it two staright against the Reds (25-17, second place in NL Central), the Phillies will send their "ace," Kyle Kendrick (4-1, 2.47), to the mound. Kendrick turned in his second-best performance of the season against the Reds on April 16 when he allowed just two hits and two walks in seven scoreless innings.

Not-so surprisngly, that April 16 game in Cincinnati ended up as a 1-0 loss.

Here's how the Phillies will face the Reds on Saturday afternoon:

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

Manager Charlie Manuel has effectively split up the lefties in this order and has center fielder Ben Revere on the bench for the fourth game in a row. Perhaps because Revere hasn't had a hit since May 11 and is 0 for 4 in his career against Reds' hurler, Bronson Arroyo, another day riding the pines might not be a bad idea.

Phillies take advantage of Broxton to cool off Reds

Jonathan Broxton, the Phillies' good ole friend, was back at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night for the start of the Reds' three-game set in Philadelphia.

And perfectly on cue, the Phillies (20-22) welcomed the righty reliever by handing him another night to forget against them, as they scored two runs -- in peculiar fashion -- with Broxton on the bump late in a tie game to beat the streaking Reds (25-17), 5-3.

Working with a 3-0 cushion, Cliff Lee pitched well (7 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), but gave up a two-run homer to Jay Bruce in the sixth inning that eventually led to Joey Votto erasing the Phillies' lead by taking Antonio Bastardo deep in the eighth.

But the Phillies snatched back their lead in the bottom of the frame. It started with a Michael Young walk. Ryan Howard then trickled a swinging bunt down the third-base line for a single. That brought Broxton in, who, again, fell apart versus the Phillies. The former Dodger closer plunked Delmon Young to load the bases before Domonic Brown plated the go-ahead run with a high-chopping fielder's choice up the middle. Carlos Ruiz provided insurance by bringing Howard home with a sac fly. The Philies' first baseman made a head-first dive to just barely beat the throw and tag.

Jonathan Papelbon was lights out yet again, recording his eighth save in as many opportunities, and in doing so, stretched his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 16 2/3.

The Reds' Sean Marshall took the defeat, although, Broxton had a big say in it.

The Phillies snapped the Reds' six-game winning spree and can now take the series against Cincinnati on Saturday when Kyle Kendrick (4-1, 2.47) opposes Bronson Arroyo (3-4, 3.76) at 4:05 p.m.

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.