Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Associated Press
A look at the best-of-five National League division series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies:
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Brewers: CF Mike Cameron (.243, 25 HRs, 70 RBIs), 3B Bill Hall (.225, 15, 55), LF Ryan Braun (.285, 37, 106), 1B Prince Fielder (.276, 34, 102, 84 BB), SS J.J. Hardy (.283, 24, 74), RF Corey Hart (.268, 20, 91), 2B Rickie Weeks (.234, 14, 46), C Jason Kendall (.246, 2, 49).
Phillies: SS Jimmy Rollins (.277, 11, 59, 76 runs, 47 SB), RF Jayson Werth (.273, 24, 67, 20 SB), 2B Chase Utley (.293, 33, 104, 113 runs), 1B Ryan Howard (.251, 48, 146, 104 runs, 199 strikeouts), LF Pat Burrell (.250, 33, 86), CF Shane Victorino (.293, 14, 58, 36 SB, 102 runs), 3B Pedro Feliz (.249, 14, 58), C Carlos Ruiz (.219, 4, 34) or Chris Coste (.263, 9, 36).
PROJECTED ROTATIONS
Brewers: RH Jeff Suppan (10-10, 4.96 ERA), LH CC Sabathia (11-2, 1.65, 7 complete games in 17 starts with Milwaukee after July 7 trade from Cleveland; 17-10, 2.70, 5 shutouts and 10 CGs overall), RH Yovani Gallardo (0-0, 1.88), RH Dave Bush (9-10, 4.18).
Phillies: LH Cole Hamels (14-10, 3.09, 196 strikeouts), RH Brett Myers (10-13, 4.55), LH Jamie Moyer (16-7, 3.71), RH Joe Blanton (4-0, 4.20 with Phillies after July 17 trade from Oakland; 9-12, 4.69 overall).
RELIEVERS
Brewers: RH Salomon Torres (7-5, 3.49, 28/35 saves), RH Eric Gagne (4-3, 5.44, 10 saves), RH Guillermo Mota (5-6, 4.11), RH Seth McClung (6-6, 4.02), LH Brian Shouse (5-1, 2.81), LH Manny Parra (10-8, 4.39).
Phillies: RH Brad Lidge (2-0, 1.95, 41/41 saves), RH Ryan Madson (4-2, 3.05), LH J.C. Romero (4-4, 2.75), RH Chad Durbin (5-4, 2.87), RH Clay Condrey (3-4, 3.26), LH Scott Eyre (5-0, 4.21 with Phillies and Cubs; 3-0, 1.88 with Phillies).
MATCHUPS
Philadelphia's four-game sweep of the visiting Brewers in mid-September ended Ned Yost's tenure as Milwaukee manager. Yost was fired Sept. 15 and replaced by his former third base coach, Dale Sveum. ... The teams split a two-game set at Miller Park in April. ... Sabathia pitched three games on three days' rest to end the season. He hasn't faced the Phillies. The big lefty won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award with Cleveland, but was 1-2 with an 8.80 ERA in three playoff starts after pitching 241 innings during the regular season. This year, he totaled a major league-high 253 innings. Will he be worn out in October? He figures to start Game 2 against Philadelphia on three days' rest again, which would line him up for a potential Game 5 on full rest, for a change. ... There's a good chance the Brewers will be without oft-injured ace Ben Sheets, who tried to come back from elbow soreness last week but couldn't get through the third inning Saturday. Milwaukee might still have an ace up its sleeve, though. Gallardo made his first start Friday since tearing a knee ligament May 1 and gave up a run and three hits in four innings. In a start against Philadelphia in August 2007, Gallardo allowed one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings. ... In stark contrast to the Phillies' stellar bullpen, the Brewers cringe just about every time they turn to their relievers. Torres took over the closer's job in midseason after Gagne faltered, but appears to be out of gas (1-2, 8.53 ERA, 2 saves in September). Gagne actually is throwing the ball as well as he has all season heading into the playoffs, but can the Brewers really trust him in games of this magnitude? ... The Brewers batted only .206 against the Phillies this season, but hit eight homers in six games. Fielder was 7-for-20 with four homers in those games, and twice connected off Lidge. ... Rollins hit .538 against Milwaukee. Victorino batted .500, Utley .476 and Werth .292. ... Phillies pitchers had a 2.72 ERA against the Brewers, their lowest vs. any team. ... Philadelphia led the NL with 214 HRs. The pitching staff's 3.88 ERA was fourth best in the league. It posted a 3.65 ERA at home in a hitter-friendly ballpark. ... Phillies had the best stolen-base percentage (84.5) in the majors. They were 136-for-161.
BIG PICTURE
Brewers: Their first playoff appearance since 1982 didn't come easily, and it certainly wouldn't have come without the deal for Sabathia, who pitched Milwaukee (90-72) into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season by throwing a four-hitter for a 3-1 victory over the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs. ... Sveum wants to see the Brewers break out of their homer-or-bust offensive tendency.
Phillies: With 16 games left, manager Charlie Manuel's team trailed the Mets by 3 1/2 games in the NL East and were four games behind wild card-leading Milwaukee. For the second year in a row, they played their best down the stretch. A four-game sweep over the Brewers got the Phillies going and they won 12 of 15 to clinch their second straight division title on the next-to-last day.