Series Preview: Dodgers

PHI: 62-49, 2nd in NL East.
LAD: 58-54, 4th in NL West.
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Discussion: Liberty Bell Sports

Probable Pitchers
Tue: Vicente Padilla (5-3, 3.09) vs. Kyle Kendrick (7-4, 4.37)
Wed: Chad Billinglsy (9-6, 3.82) vs. Roy Oswalt (6-13, 3.50)
Thu: Clayton Kershaw (10-7, 3.19) vs. Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.65)

Broadcast
Tue: 7:05, CSN
Wed: 7:05, CSN
Thu: 7:05, MyPHL17

Hot (last 7 games) – Jayson Werth: .367 (11-for-10), 5 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, .441 OBP, .600 SLG.
Not – Greg Dobbs: He hasn’t had a hit since July 26, an 0-17 drought.

Player to Watch – Andre Ethier: He’s the real deal, LA’s finest. Ethier is batting .296 with 18 homers and 63 RBIs. He had some time off with an injury earlier in the season and picked up where he left off but he hasn’t swung well as of late. He’s batting .244 in his last 10 games with two homers and four RBIs. The Dodgers will need him to pick up his game if they want to make this a series.

Series Overview: The Dodgers are coming to town for a three-game series. As they have been made the Phillies’ whipping mule in the NLCS the past two years, fans will surely be reminding their group of “followers” of Matt Stairs’ and Jimmy Rollins’ playoff heroics the past two seasons.

This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams. They will meet again at the end of the month in Los Angeles.

Raul Ibanez is in the middle of a 16-game hitting streak. That’s a career high for the left-handed hitting outfielder and is also the fifth highest since 1990 for the Phillies.

The Phillies love playing in their park, compiling a 36-19 record at The Bank. LA doesn’t exactly play well in other teams’ homes. It shows as they are 22-30 on the road.

The Phillies have won 14 of their last 17 games and 13 of their last 14 home games.

Manny Ramirez has been on the DL for a while and hasn’t played since July 16. His bat is sorely missed in LA.

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