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Philadelphia Phillies didn't enjoy their recent visit from an American League West resident over the weekend. The team aims to return the favor when it heads to the opposite coast to battle the hosting
Oakland Athletics in tonight's opener of a three-game series at McAfee Coliseum.
The Phillies wrapped a six-game homestand on Sunday that featured visits from a pair of AL division leaders. After dropping the last two games of a three- test set to Boston, Philadelphia was swept in three games by the AL West- leading Angels.
The Phils are being outscored 26-9 over their season-long five-game losing streak, as their big bats have gone cold. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell, who bat 3-4-5 in the order, went a combined 10-for-65 (.154) on the six-game residency. Those three are the main reasons that the club is among the major-league team leaders in runs scored, homers, RBI and slugging percentage.
Utley's slump is most concerning, as the slick-hitting second baseman was mired in an 0-for-24 skid before lacing a double in the third inning of Sunday's 3-2 setback. He later scored on Howard's single to right.
Howard and Jimmy Rollins each went 2-for-4 and knocked in a run for the Phillies, while Cole Hamels (7-5) rebounded from a rocky second inning to toss seven solid frames. He allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks, but dropped the decision.
Philadelphia has now lost its last four series and has watched its lead over second-place Florida in the NL East shrink to just one game.
Jamie Moyer will try to play the role of the stopper tonight for Philadelphia, but he picked up his first loss since May 10 his last time out. Moyer was 5-0 in six starts before he allowed two runs on four hits and five walks over five innings of a 3-0 setback Tuesday versus Boston. He fell to 7-4 with a 4.09 earned run average on the season, while the Phils dropped to 10-5 in his 15 starts.
The 45-year-old left-hander, who is 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA on the road this season, is 17-15 with a 4.46 ERA and two shutouts in 47 career games against Oakland, including 43 starts. However, he went 0-3 in three starts against the club while with the Mariners in 2006, prior to being dealt to the Phils later that season.
The Athletics currently trail the Angels by five games in the AL West and opened a nine-game homestand by taking two of three contests against Florida over the weekend. That included a 7-1 victory on Sunday.
Justin Duchscherer (8-4) scattered six hits and one run over 7 2/3 innings to earn his fourth straight victory for Oakland in Sunday's win.
Oakland's Emil Brown had struck out in each of his last eight plate appearances -- one shy of a team record -- before going 2-for-2 with two walks and two RBI in the victory. Mark Ellis went 3-for-5 and scored twice for the Athletics, while Jack Cust, Bobby Crosby and Kurt Suzuki also knocked in runs.
Cust is still batting just .095 (2-for-21) over his last five games, though A's catcher Kurt Suzuki is hitting at a .538 clip (14-for-26) over his last seven tests with four runs scored, two homers and 10 RBI. Suzuki also has four multiple-hit games in that time.
Oakland starts Joe Blanton, who will try to avoid a career-high tying fifth straight losing start tonight. Blanton has dropped each of his last four outings while pitching to a 7.94 ERA in that time. He is coming off his worst start of the season, as he allowed eight runs on seven hits and three walks over just three innings of a setback in Arizona on Wednesday.
The right-hander is just 3-10 with a 4.81 ERA in 16 starts, and his seven losses in 11 starts at home are tied for the major-league lead. Blanton went 14-10 overall last season.
The 27-year-old has faced the Phillies just once in his career, picking up a victory on June 19, 2005 behind 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball.
These two clubs last met in 2005, with Oakland taking two of three at home. The Phils and A's also met in Philadelphia in 2003, with the Phillies taking two of three.
