Florida Marlins (32-33) @ Philadelphia Phillies (40-26) 6/14/11 Preview

A classy Cole Hamels (8-2, 2.58 ERA)

 
VS

                                                                    

Chris Volstad (2-6, 5.51 ERA)


Marlins Lineup:
Florida Marlins:
1. Hanley Ramirez SS
2. Emilio Bonifacio CF
3. Logan Morrison LF
4. Gaby Sanchez 1B
5. Mike Stanton RF
6. John Buck C
7. Omar Infante 2B
8. Wes Helms 3B
9. Chris Volstad P

Pre-game notes and thoughts:

• Best Phillies pitcher this year? Go. Nope, his name is not Roy, his name is Cole. The arrival of Roy Halladay has greatly influenced Hamels career. Don't forget he was the World Series MVP at one point in time.
• While Hamels hasn't fared too well against the Fish, the pitching matchup favors the Phillies by a wide margin.
• Chris Coghlan has a .412 batting average in 17 AB's (7-17) against Hamels, yet is still benched. A very interesting move by Edwin, making a statement that Coghlan needs to get it together.
• Expect some homers in this series, as Citizens Bank Park is hardly friendly to pitchers. A Stanton bomb would be nice. But morose, a Marlins win, multiple of them, they need them.

Keys to the Game:

• For the Marlins: Volstad needs to avoid the big inning. In a ballpark like this, and an offense like the Phillies have, big innings can happen. Volstad always runs into an inning where he struggles. Marlins hitters need to get men on base against Hamels and start a rally of their own. They will need the big hit and occasional long ball to have a chance in this game and series.
• For the Phillies: Play the baseball that they have played all year. An Utley diving catch, a Howard bomb, a Halladay complete game. They are elite. If they keep the game close, or take an early lead, they will be ready to pounce on a tired Marlins bullpen if they get to it. If they get to the bullpen early, they will win this game.

Beautiful Citizens Bank Park is the setting for the biggest Marlins series of the year this far. Go Fish.