Halladay tries to give slumping Phils a lift vs. Texas
TEXAS RANGERS (23-21)
at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (26-17)
First pitch: Friday, 7:05 p.m. EDT
Line: Philadelphia -165, Texas +155, Total: 7
In the words of fictional “Saturday Night Live” character Chico Escuela, “beisbol has been berry, berry, good” in Philadelphia. Especially since 2007, when the Phils won the first of four straight NL East divisional titles, adding two NL pennants and a World Series championship along the way. Interleague baseball on the other hand has not been kind in the land of the cheesesteaks. The Phils are 106-129 all-time in interleague play. The team’s .451 winning percentage is the fifth-worst record in the National League. Entering the start of interleague play on Friday, Philly will have one of the best AL pitchers from the past decade taking the mound on their behalf, Roy Halladay. He will need to be at his best facing the potent Texas Rangers, who are above .500 all-time in interleague competition, and are not as likely to be intimidated by Halladay’s greatness as one might anticipate.
Halladay enters the game with a 5-3 record and an array of eye-popping stats. His K-to-BB ratio is nearly 7-to-1 (73 strikeouts vs. 11 free passes). His ERA is 2.21. His WHIP is 0.995, and in 69.1 innings pitched, he has allowed just two home runs. Halladay has lost two of his past three outings despite a 2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 26 K and 4 BB in this trio of starts. He had a complete-game, 3-2 loss that he suffered in his last start Sunday in Atlanta. The Phillies are hoping that the Halladay who has been at times untouchable in the National league since the start of the 2010 season can show a similar dominance against the defending AL champions. Over his career versus the Rangers, it’s been a mixed bag of results, most of them not good. Halladay is 8-7 in 20 career starts against Texas, but has a 5.16 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, giving his team an 8-12 mark in these outings. While Halladay has continued to evolve as a pitcher since coming to the NL, the numbers prove that the Rangers know how to get to him. Texas defeated Halladay two straight times he faced them while in the AL (9 ER, 19 H in 17 IP), with those two losses coming once each in 2008 and 2009. Win or lose, expect Halladay to go deep into the game. In his past three starts against Texas, he went nine innings twice, and eight innings the third time.
If the Rangers can score some runs, the Phillies struggling offense could be in a world of trouble. Philadelphia enters the game losers of five out of six games, and has scored a total of 10 runs in those six games. Ryan Howard, the team’s top RBI man, is in an 0-for-20 drought, as his average has plummeted to .241. Raul Ibanez is 3-for-17 with one RBI in the past five games. Leading hitter Placido Polanco (.335 BA) is also in a 3-for-17 slump, while center fielder Shane Victorino is headed for the DL with a hamstring strain.
The Rangers come to town having just earned a split of a two-game series in Kansas City, and are winners of five of the past eight games overall. While the Phillies were victimized by Jason Giambi’s three home runs in a 7-1 loss Thursday night, the Rangers lost a 2-1 heartbreaker in 10 innings on Jeff Francoeur’s walk-off single. Texas will send its ace C.J. Wilson to the hill to face Halladay. Wilson (4-2, 3.23 ERA) has never faced the Phillies. He has been both strong and inconsistent of late versus AL opponents, earning a no-decision during a short five-inning outing against the Angels Sunday. Prior to that, he lost to Oakland May 9 when he went seven innings and allowed five runs on just two hits (and five walks). Before that start, he struck out 12 Seattle Mariners over nine innings to earn a dazzling 5-2 victory on May 4. Which C.J. Wilson shows up Friday is anyone’s guess, but if he wants to last for a while pitching in Citizens Bank Park, it would behoove him to keep his pitches down, even against the slumping Phillies. The Rangers have scored 201 runs, making them the fifth-most prolific offense in the league. The Texas bats against Halladay’s right arm will be the key matchups to watch. Adrian Beltre is 5-for-27 (.185) lifetime versus Halladay, while Michael Young (.279 BA, 7 RBI, 12 K in 43 AB) and Ian Kinsler (6-of-19, .316 BA), have been slightly more successful against Philly’s ace.
The pick here is for Halladay and Philadelphia to eke out a likely low-scoring affair. This four-star FoxSheets trend strongly supports the Phillies pick.
Play Against - All underdogs with a money line of +100 or higher (TEXAS) - below average AL hitting team (AVG <=.265) against a good NL starting pitcher (ERA <=3.70), cold hitting team - batting .250 or worse over their last 20 games. (97-29 since 1997.) (77%, +53.5 units. Rating = 4*).
TEXAS RANGERS (23-21)
at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (26-17)
First pitch: Friday, 7:05 p.m. EDT
Line: Philadelphia -165, Texas +155, Total: 7
In the words of fictional “Saturday Night Live” character Chico Escuela, “beisbol has been berry, berry, good” in Philadelphia. Especially since 2007, when the Phils won the first of four straight NL East divisional titles, adding two NL pennants and a World Series championship along the way. Interleague baseball on the other hand has not been kind in the land of the cheesesteaks. The Phils are 106-129 all-time in interleague play. The team’s .451 winning percentage is the fifth-worst record in the National League. Entering the start of interleague play on Friday, Philly will have one of the best AL pitchers from the past decade taking the mound on their behalf, Roy Halladay. He will need to be at his best facing the potent Texas Rangers, who are above .500 all-time in interleague competition, and are not as likely to be intimidated by Halladay’s greatness as one might anticipate.
Halladay enters the game with a 5-3 record and an array of eye-popping stats. His K-to-BB ratio is nearly 7-to-1 (73 strikeouts vs. 11 free passes). His ERA is 2.21. His WHIP is 0.995, and in 69.1 innings pitched, he has allowed just two home runs. Halladay has lost two of his past three outings despite a 2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 26 K and 4 BB in this trio of starts. He had a complete-game, 3-2 loss that he suffered in his last start Sunday in Atlanta. The Phillies are hoping that the Halladay who has been at times untouchable in the National league since the start of the 2010 season can show a similar dominance against the defending AL champions. Over his career versus the Rangers, it’s been a mixed bag of results, most of them not good. Halladay is 8-7 in 20 career starts against Texas, but has a 5.16 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, giving his team an 8-12 mark in these outings. While Halladay has continued to evolve as a pitcher since coming to the NL, the numbers prove that the Rangers know how to get to him. Texas defeated Halladay two straight times he faced them while in the AL (9 ER, 19 H in 17 IP), with those two losses coming once each in 2008 and 2009. Win or lose, expect Halladay to go deep into the game. In his past three starts against Texas, he went nine innings twice, and eight innings the third time.
If the Rangers can score some runs, the Phillies struggling offense could be in a world of trouble. Philadelphia enters the game losers of five out of six games, and has scored a total of 10 runs in those six games. Ryan Howard, the team’s top RBI man, is in an 0-for-20 drought, as his average has plummeted to .241. Raul Ibanez is 3-for-17 with one RBI in the past five games. Leading hitter Placido Polanco (.335 BA) is also in a 3-for-17 slump, while center fielder Shane Victorino is headed for the DL with a hamstring strain.
The Rangers come to town having just earned a split of a two-game series in Kansas City, and are winners of five of the past eight games overall. While the Phillies were victimized by Jason Giambi’s three home runs in a 7-1 loss Thursday night, the Rangers lost a 2-1 heartbreaker in 10 innings on Jeff Francoeur’s walk-off single. Texas will send its ace C.J. Wilson to the hill to face Halladay. Wilson (4-2, 3.23 ERA) has never faced the Phillies. He has been both strong and inconsistent of late versus AL opponents, earning a no-decision during a short five-inning outing against the Angels Sunday. Prior to that, he lost to Oakland May 9 when he went seven innings and allowed five runs on just two hits (and five walks). Before that start, he struck out 12 Seattle Mariners over nine innings to earn a dazzling 5-2 victory on May 4. Which C.J. Wilson shows up Friday is anyone’s guess, but if he wants to last for a while pitching in Citizens Bank Park, it would behoove him to keep his pitches down, even against the slumping Phillies. The Rangers have scored 201 runs, making them the fifth-most prolific offense in the league. The Texas bats against Halladay’s right arm will be the key matchups to watch. Adrian Beltre is 5-for-27 (.185) lifetime versus Halladay, while Michael Young (.279 BA, 7 RBI, 12 K in 43 AB) and Ian Kinsler (6-of-19, .316 BA), have been slightly more successful against Philly’s ace.
The pick here is for Halladay and Philadelphia to eke out a likely low-scoring affair. This four-star FoxSheets trend strongly supports the Phillies pick.
Play Against - All underdogs with a money line of +100 or higher (TEXAS) - below average AL hitting team (AVG <=.265) against a good NL starting pitcher (ERA <=3.70), cold hitting team - batting .250 or worse over their last 20 games. (97-29 since 1997.) (77%, +53.5 units. Rating = 4*).
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