Phillies Preview: August 27, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies (73-51) at Pittsburgh Pirates (52-72)
7:05pm - PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

J.A. Happ, LHP (10-2, 2.59) v. Charlie Morton, RHP (3-6, 5.21)

With only a quarter of the season left, J.A. Happ will have about eight more starts to solidify his candidacy for Rookie of the Year in the National League. Happ will look to be aggressive against the Pirates and continue his string of fantastic starts. He will square off with righty Charlie Morton, who has struggled this season. He will face a very difficult task of containing the Phillies offense in the finale of the series.

J.A. Happ has shown the poise and determination of a veteran all season. Even more impressive is the fact that he is pitching on a pennant contending team. Despite being a rookie, Happ has posted numbers as good as anyone this side of Cliff Lee. He will look to continue his Rookie of the Year campaign tonight in Pittsburgh. Current Pirates hitters are batting just .125 against Happ in 17 career plate appearances. Happ will need to keep pitches down and on the corners tonight against the aggressive Pirates lineup.

Happ will be opposed on the mound by Charlie Morton. Morton has not pitched well this season, in limited action, with a very high 5.21 ERA. The righty will look to get on track against the Phillies, which will be no easy task. Current Phillies have only had 10 plate appearances against Morton but are hitting .556 against him. They will need to be patient tonight to extend their dominance against him

This might seem like an easy game for the Phillies but it won't be. The Phillies need to show some intensity and offensive patience in order to win this series from the youthful Pirates. If they can wait out Morton, then they should have some success. Hopefully that will translate into plenty of run support for Jay Happ tonight.