Philadelphia @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Oct 19, 2010 ) Philadelphia 0, San Francisco 3
The San Francisco Giants have already beaten two of the Philadelphia Phillies' vaunted three aces.
Now the Phillies are counting on right-hander Joe Blanton to make sure the aces get dealt another hand.
Philadelphia will send the veteran Blanton to the mound Wednesday against Giants rookie Madison Bumgarner, as the Phillies look to even the National League Championship Series at two games apiece by winning Game 4 at AT&T Park.
Blanton will try to do what neither Roy Halladay nor Cole Hamels could and get the Phillies back to their aces on regular rest. The Giants beat Halladay in Game 1, and right-hander Matt Cain outdueled Hamels in San Francisco's 3-0 win in Tuesday's Game 3.
It will be the first action of the postseason for Blanton, who hasn't started since beating Washington on Sept. 29 and hasn't pitched at all since throwing an inning of relief in the season finale against Atlanta on Oct. 3.
If Blanton can regain his late-season form, though, the Phillies should be in good shape. He won his last six decisions and had a 2.51 ERA in his last five regular-season starts.
One of those wins was against the Giants on Aug. 18, when he held them to two runs over 6 1/3 innings in an 8-2 home victory. Blanton is 2-3 with a 4.73 ERA in seven career starts against San Francisco.
It might not matter how well Blanton pitches if the Phillies can't shake out of their offensive funk. After managing only three singles against Cain and closer Brian Wilson in Game 3, Philadelphia's team batting average is down to .194 for the series.
It falls to the 21-year-old left-hander Bumgarner to try to keep the Phillies' bats quiet.
Unlike Blanton, who is 2-0 with a 3.89 ERA in eight postseason games (five starts), Bumgarner is relatively inexperienced in the postseason.
But it didn't show in his playoff debut - he was the winning pitcher in the Giants' clinching Game 4 victory against the Atlanta Braves in the division series, allowing two runs on six hits over six innings.
That was a continuation of the success he had after being called up June 26. He went 7-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 18 major league starts and was especially sharp late in the season, posting a 1.13 ERA in five September starts.
Bumgarner has never faced the Phillies.
Like the Phillies, the Giants have struggled at the plate - they're hitting just .189 as a team with only five extra-base hits.
But they've benefited from some timely hits, particularly from outfielder Cody Ross, who is 4-for-9 with three homers and four RBIs in the series.
The Giants might be able to expect a boost from No. 2 hitter Freddy Sanchez, who is 3-for-12 with three home runs against Blanton.
Halladay and Tim Lincecum are scheduled to pitch Game 5 Thursday in San Francisco. If the series goes back to Philadelphia, Giants' left-hander Jonathan Sanchez would pitch Game 6 on Saturday against Roy Oswalt, who threw eight innings of one-run ball to win Game 2.