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Chase Utley and Ryan Howard may be glad the Philadelphia Phillies don’t participate in interleague play this weekend, and get an extra series against the St. Louis Cardinals instead.
Utley and Howard look to continue to pummel the Cardinals as the Phillies continue their three-game set at Busch Stadium on Saturday.
Utley, Howard and Pat Burrell homered in consecutive at-bats in the first inning Friday, setting the tone for Philadelphia’s 20-2 win over St. Louis (40-29). Utley’s homer was his major league-leading 22nd, while Howard has 16 and Burrell has 17 for the Phillies (41-28), who are second in the majors with 99 home runs.
“It’s pretty cool to have Chase kind of start it off and then me go and Pat come right after that,” said Howard, who had another home run in the sixth inning and drove in five runs. “It was pretty fun to be a part of.”
Series at a Glance
The Phillies had a season-high 21 hits Friday, and matched their highest run total in a game this season, set on May 26—just 16 games ago.
Utley finished with two hits and three RBIs on Friday, and is batting .402 (39-for-97) with three homers, eight doubles and 20 RBIs during a 21-game hitting streak against the Cardinals.
Howard, who grew up in the St. Louis area and went to Missouri State, is hitting .348 (24-for-69) with eight home runs and 22 RBIs in 17 games lifetime versus the Cardinals.
The Phillies are averaging 9.4 runs in their last seven games against the Cardinals, and Philadelphia will play more games versus St. Louis this season (nine) than any other team outside the NL East.
The Cardinals, who entered Friday’s game tied with the Phillies for second-best record in the NL, look to avoid losing three straight games for the first time since May 11-13.
St. Louis third baseman Troy Glaus went 2-for-3 with a RBI on Friday, and is hitting .311 (14-for-45) with six home runs and nine RBIs in his last 13 games after going 1-for-20 in his previous six.
Kyle Lohse (7-2, 3.92 ERA) tries to help the Cardinals get back in the win column when he takes the ball Saturday, as he looks to win five straight starts for the first time in his career.
Lohse, who also won four straight starts for Minnesota from Aug. 1-16, 2003, has posted a 1.96 ERA during his winning streak. On Sunday, the right-hander gave up three runs and five hits in six innings of a 5-4 victory at Houston.
Lohse pitched for both Cincinnati and Philadelphia last season before signing a free agent contract with the Cardinals in March. He is 0-1 with a 1.40 ERA in three career starts versus the Phillies.
Philadelphia counters with Adam Eaton (2-3, 4.62), who gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings of a 6-3 win over Atlanta on Sunday, but was not a factor in the decision.
The right-hander is 2-0 with a 2.41 ERA in his last three starts after going 0-3 with a 6.43 ERA in his previous four.
Eaton was roughed up in losing his two starts against the Cardinals last season, allowing 12 runs and 18 hits over 9 1-3 innings in those outings. He is 1-4 with a 6.82 ERA in seven career starts versus St. Louis.
Chase Utley and Ryan Howard may be glad the Philadelphia Phillies don’t participate in interleague play this weekend, and get an extra series against the St. Louis Cardinals instead.
Utley and Howard look to continue to pummel the Cardinals as the Phillies continue their three-game set at Busch Stadium on Saturday.
Utley, Howard and Pat Burrell homered in consecutive at-bats in the first inning Friday, setting the tone for Philadelphia’s 20-2 win over St. Louis (40-29). Utley’s homer was his major league-leading 22nd, while Howard has 16 and Burrell has 17 for the Phillies (41-28), who are second in the majors with 99 home runs.
“It’s pretty cool to have Chase kind of start it off and then me go and Pat come right after that,” said Howard, who had another home run in the sixth inning and drove in five runs. “It was pretty fun to be a part of.”
Series at a Glance
- Philadelphia 20
St. Louis 2
Fri, Jun 13 - Final - Philadelphia at
St. Louis
Sat, Jun 14 - 3:55 pm ET - Philadelphia at
St. Louis
Sun, Jun 15 - 2:15 pm ET
The Phillies had a season-high 21 hits Friday, and matched their highest run total in a game this season, set on May 26—just 16 games ago.
Utley finished with two hits and three RBIs on Friday, and is batting .402 (39-for-97) with three homers, eight doubles and 20 RBIs during a 21-game hitting streak against the Cardinals.
Howard, who grew up in the St. Louis area and went to Missouri State, is hitting .348 (24-for-69) with eight home runs and 22 RBIs in 17 games lifetime versus the Cardinals.
The Phillies are averaging 9.4 runs in their last seven games against the Cardinals, and Philadelphia will play more games versus St. Louis this season (nine) than any other team outside the NL East.
The Cardinals, who entered Friday’s game tied with the Phillies for second-best record in the NL, look to avoid losing three straight games for the first time since May 11-13.
St. Louis third baseman Troy Glaus went 2-for-3 with a RBI on Friday, and is hitting .311 (14-for-45) with six home runs and nine RBIs in his last 13 games after going 1-for-20 in his previous six.
Kyle Lohse (7-2, 3.92 ERA) tries to help the Cardinals get back in the win column when he takes the ball Saturday, as he looks to win five straight starts for the first time in his career.
Lohse, who also won four straight starts for Minnesota from Aug. 1-16, 2003, has posted a 1.96 ERA during his winning streak. On Sunday, the right-hander gave up three runs and five hits in six innings of a 5-4 victory at Houston.
Lohse pitched for both Cincinnati and Philadelphia last season before signing a free agent contract with the Cardinals in March. He is 0-1 with a 1.40 ERA in three career starts versus the Phillies.
Philadelphia counters with Adam Eaton (2-3, 4.62), who gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings of a 6-3 win over Atlanta on Sunday, but was not a factor in the decision.
The right-hander is 2-0 with a 2.41 ERA in his last three starts after going 0-3 with a 6.43 ERA in his previous four.
Eaton was roughed up in losing his two starts against the Cardinals last season, allowing 12 runs and 18 hits over 9 1-3 innings in those outings. He is 1-4 with a 6.82 ERA in seven career starts versus St. Louis.
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