Phillies at Pirates
The same pitching staff that led the Phillies to 102 wins last season
has again looked the part thus far in 2012, with Roy Halladay and Cliff
Lee each turning in a strong first start to begin this weekend’s series.
The Pirates, though, took advantage of Lee’s first wild pitch in almost
two years, stretching Saturday’s game to 10 innings before prevailing
2-1 on an RBI infield single by Alex Presley.
Both clubs
strengthened their pitching staffs during the off-season - Philadelphia
signed former Boston closer Papelbon as a free agent, while Pittsburgh
acquired veteran starters Erik Bedard and A.J. Burnett in an attempt to
shore up its starting rotation. Bedard pitched seven strong innings in
defeat during Thursday’s season opener.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, PHL 17 (Philadelphia), ROOT Sports (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Vance Worley (2011: 11-3, ERA 3.01) vs. Pirates RH James McDonald (2011: 9-9, ERA 4.21)
Worley
was a pleasant surprise as Philadelphia’s No. 5 starter in his first
full season, particularly against left-handed hitters, who batted only
.201 against him. He escaped without a decision in his lone career start
against the Pirates after yielding four runs and seven hits in six
innings of work.
McDonald has been a model of inconsistency,
thanks largely to his lack of control - the 6-foot-4 right-hander walked 78
batters in 171 innings last season, and his career strikeout-to-walk
ratio is an unimpressive 1.87. McDonald dropped both of his starts
against the Phillies last year, giving up eight runs on 13 hits and
seven walks in nine innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pittsburgh has won eight of its last 12 home games against Philadelphia dating back to the start of the 2009 season.
2. The Phillies have lost six of their last seven Sunday games, but are 7-1 in Worley’s last eight starts on the road.
3. Outfielder Hunter Pence is 5-for-11 against McDonald, but the rest of the active Phillies roster is a combined 7-for-27 (.259).