Milwaukee @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( May 16, 2010 ) Philadelphia 4, Milwaukee 2
Aesthetically pleasing it was not, but the Philadelphia Phillies managed to win on Thursday despite surrendering 11 runs and 20 hits.
Such is life for the Phillies (76-58), who have won four in a row and six of their last seven to climb within two games of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves (78-56). The victory also increased their lead in the race for the wild card to two games over the San Francisco Giants (74-60).
Chase Utley belted a grand slam and tied a career high with six RBIs and Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth also went deep as the Fightin' Phils scored nine runs in the seventh inning to rally to a 12-11 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
For Utley, it was his third multi-hit game and it comes on the heels of Wednesday's effort when he legged out three doubles. The five-time All-Star second baseman has increased his average to .273 following the power surge.
Every member of the Phillies' starting lineup recorded at least one hit in this one. In fact, Werth wrapped three hits and Placido Polanco, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez and Utley had two apiece for Philadelphia.
Charlie Manuel's club will look to keep the good times rolling when it returns home on Friday to face the Milwaukee Brewers (62-71) in the opener of a three-game series. The Phillies swept a three-game set against the Brewers in mid-May.
Cole Hamels (8-10, 3.31 ERA) will take the ball for Philadelphia, which gave him an incredible amount of run support - well, relatively speaking - in his last outing. The 26-year-old left-hander tossed eight scoreless innings and permitted just four hits en route to a 5-0 triumph over the NL West-leading San Diego Padres on Sunday.
Prior to that start, the 2008 World Series MVP was buoyed by only four runs in his previous four outings.
Milwaukee knows a thing or two about not getting any run support. The listless Brewers managed just nine runs en route to getting swept by the NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds.
If Ken Macha's club is looking for positives - which have been few and far between this season - well, it won't see anything close to resembling rookie left-hander Aroldis Chapman when it comes to the City of Brotherly Love.
The flame-throwing Cuban reached 103 mph on the radar gun on Wednesday, leaving the baffled Brewers in his wake.
Admittedly, Philadelphia relievers Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge have been known to hit the mid-90s with their fastballs, but those pitches may seem like changeups from Hamels when compared to Chapman.
Keeping the Phillies' offense in check is the responsibility of Chris Capuano (2-2, 5.06 ERA), who struggled in his return to the starting rotation. The 32-year-old left-hander yielded six runs and six hits in three innings en route to a no-decision last Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Capuano will face the Phillies for the first time since 2006. He is 0-1 with a 3.79 ERA in three career starts against them.
The Brewers have been playing out the string for quite some time now. They have won just three of their last 10 games - with sweeps against the Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers sandwiching a three-game victorious stretch against the Pirates.