Philadelphia @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( May 14, 2010 ) Philadelphia 9, Milwaukee 5
Shane Victorino encountered a lot problems at the plate in April. But he seems to have discovered some answers in May.
The Philadelphia center fielder struggled in the first month of the season, batting just .226. But Victorino is hitting .302 in May and will try to continue his recent hot streak in Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Victorino went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in Friday’s 9-5 victory over Milwaukee. He had a key two-run triple in the fourth inning. Victorino has gone 5-for-13 in his last three games, and he’s raised his batting average 27 points to .253 in just two weeks.
The Hawaiian banged out three homers with 15 RBIs in April, but Victorino’s almost matched those numbers halfway through May. The center fielder now has four homers and 13 RBIs in the first part of this month. In addition, he’s struck out only five times in May after fanning 16 times in April.
Victorino moved into the leadoff spot when Jimmy Rollins went on to the disabled list just seven games into the season. The Phillies said Friday they’re hoping to get Rollins back at some point during their homestand that begins Monday.
Victorino and the Phillies will have to face Chris Narveson (2-0) on Saturday, and he has won two of his three starts since taking over as the team’s No. 5 starter.
Milwaukee desperately needs better pitching after surrendering 37 runs during its four-game losing streak.
The Brewers’ pitchers allowed nine runs on 11 hits in Friday’s loss – and hurt their own cause when reliever Manny Parra made two fielding errors in one inning that led to two runs.
Milwaukee couldn’t keep the Philadelphia leadoff batters off base in Friday’s game. The Phillies put a runner on base in seven of the nine innings - and that accounted for five of the team’s nine runs.
The unusual part of this recent pitching skid is that the Brewers gave up three runs or less in four of their five previous games.
The poor pitching has caused the team to lose four more at home, adding to a very bad start there. Milwaukee, which faces Philadelphia right-hander Joe Blanton (0-2) on Saturday, now is only 4-12 at home this season - its worst start in team history through 16 games.