Phillies Preview: August 30, 2009

Atlanta Braves (68-61) at Philadelphia Phillies (74-53)
8:05pm - Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA

Joe Blanton, RHP (8-6, 3.88) v. Jair Jurrjens, RHP (10-8, 2.91)

The finale of the series will be an ESPN Sunday Night game with Joe Blanton toeing the rubber against Jair Jurrjens. The two righties are a pair of the most underrated pitchers in the league, though the numbers don't necessarily reveal it. Blanton will look to get back on the winning track, after going just 1-2 in his last five starts. Jair Jurrjens has taken a lot of hard-luck losses this season, though his ERA is impressive. He has always been a tough opponent for the Phillies.

After splitting the first two games, the Phillies will hand the ball to Joe Blanton tonight. Blanton has had some bad luck in the last month, with just one win to his record. He will look to turn that around tonight against the Braves. However, it will be a tough task, as current Braves are hitting .303 off of Blanton in 142 career plate appearances. On what hopes to be a clear night in Philly, Blanton must execute pin-point command in order to shut down an above-average Braves offense.

Jair Jurrjens will take the ball against the Phillies tonight. The righty is one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball and features devastating command. The Phillies will need to be more aggressive than usual against this strike-thrower early, otherwise they might find themselves behind in a lot of counts. Current Phils have seen a lot of Jurrjens without much success, posting a .189 batting average against him in 166 lifetime plate appearances. Though they are playing in cozy Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies really need to manufacture runs tonight, rather than rely on long balls.

This nationally televised game will be a measuring stick for the Phillies. As they enter play with a month to go, they are pitted against a great pitcher on a playoff-hopeful team. Playing in front of their home crowd, the Phillies need to show something on offense tonight and back up what will hopefully be another quality start from Joe Blanton. If they succeed, they will re-open the eight game lead they had in the East just a day ago.