Preview Game 30: Phillies - Dodgers
This may be dubbed as a rematch of the 2008 National League Championship Series, but it will be tough to picture that when the Phillies and Dodgers take the field tonight.
The Phillies will send Chan Ho Park to the mound. Park is still looking for his first victory of the 2009 season but is coming off his best start of the year. Can Park pitch like he did in his last outing or will he take a step or two back to the Park that has given up runs and become frustrated on the mound?
The Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw. The 2006 first round pick of the Dodgers enters with a record of 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA. Kershaw has 34 strike-outs and 16 walks this season. The lefty could present some problems for the Phillies' lefty heavy lineup. The good news for the Phillies is that Kershaw has only reached the seventh inning twice this season, so if the bats can get some hits early it could be a long night for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers got off to a terrific start, entering tonight with the best record i baseball at 22-11, but have been playing .500 on the road. Ordinarily that would be a good sign but tonight they will play without the suspended Manny Ramirez. Since Ramirez was suspended the Dodgers have been scuffling and are 1-3, including a late inning loss to the Nationals and two of three against heated rival San Francisco.
The Dodgers have lost six straight games at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies swept a four game home stand against the Dodgers last season, only a couple weeks after the Dodgers had swept a four game series in Los Angeles. Of course, the Phillies also took Games One and Two in the NLCS last fall.
Phillies Record: 15-14
Dodgers Record: 22-11
NL East Standings (Team, record, games behind):
TV: MyPhl 17
First pitch: 7:05 pm
Season Series: First meeting
Game open thread will be posted at 6:30pm. Game recap will be up tomorrow morning.
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