Phillies Preview: NLCS Game Two

National League Championship Series - Game Two

Philadelphia Phillies (1-0) v. Los Angeles Dodgers (0-1)

Friday October 16, 2009 - 4:07pm ET

Dodger Stadium, Dodgertown, CA

93° F - Sunny

Pedro Martinez, RHP (0-0, 0.00) v. Vicente Padilla, RHP (0-0, 0.00)

After the Philadelphia Phillies took game one and home field advantage from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the two teams will square off again in the second game of the National League Championship Series. In what was an offensive showdown, the two teams combined to put up fourteen runs, in what might be an indicator of things to come in this series. This afternoon, both will send veteran right-handers to the mound in Pedro Martinez and Vicente Padilla. With the weather forecast to be especially hot, the ball will likely be carrying well in Dodger Stadium.

Starting Pitcher: Pedro Martinez, Phillies

Pedro Martinez will make his first start of the postseason in 2009, after having the past 17 days off. He might be a veteran without a blazing fastball, but the future Hall-of-Famer still has a few bullets left. He was acquired in the middle of the 2009 season to give the Phillies' rotation a boost, and Martinez did just that. Pedro went 5-1 in nine games for the Phillies and logged just 44.2 innings this year. He should be fresh and ready to make an impact, though he will likely have a limited pitch count. Martinez still works off of his fastball, which reaches the low 90s, and also mixes in a changeup and breaking pitch to get hitters out.

In 2009, the righty did not face the Dodgers, but has excellent numbers in his career against their hitters. Over 209 career plate appearances, current Dodgers hitters are batting just .218 with 58 punchouts. The 37-year old will look to continue that dominance and keep with pitches in the park, in order to have success. Manny Ramirez has the most experience of any starter, by far, against Martinez and has hit just .154 with 16 strike outs against him. Off the bench, Jim Thome also has faced Pedro a lot and has belted four homers but also fanned 18 times against him.

Starting Pitcher: Vicente Padilla, Dodgers

Vicente Padilla will get the nod for the Dodgers and will try to bridge the gap to their nearly unhittable bullpen. With a travel day tomorrow, the Dodgers will have the luxury of dipping into their relievers earlier in the ballgame. Padilla, a former Phillie, started the season with the Texas Rangers and was released, then acquired by the Dodgers late in the season. He went 4-0 in eight appearances with the Dodgers this season and threw a combined 147.1 innings this season. The righty has a big repertoire of pitches, including a fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup. He doesn't throw especially hard and must hit the corners in order to be successful.

Like Martinez, Padilla did not face the Phillies in 2009 and since he went to the American League after his stint with the Phillies, he has not faced them very much. Still, in 93 total plate appearances, current Phillies hitters are batting .286 against him. Raul Ibanez has the most appearances against Padilla and has homered twice off of the 31-year old. The big lefties in the Philadelphia lineup will need to get to Padilla early, to put up some runs for Pedro before the Dodger bullpen arrives on the scene to shut them down.

Starting Lineup: Philadelphia Phillies

Statistics versus Vicente Padilla

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS (1/4, 0 HR, 0 K)
2. Shane Victorino, CF (0/3, 0 HR, 1 K)
3. Chase Utley, 2B (1/3, 1 HR, 0 K)
4. Ryan Howard, 1B (1/2, 1 HR, 1 K)
5. Jayson Werth, RF (1/2, 0 HR, 0 K)
6. Raul Ibanez, LF (9/28, 2 HR, 5 K)
7. Pedro Feliz, 3B (2/9, 0 HR, 2 K)
8. Carlos Ruiz, C (0/0, 0 HR, 0 K)

Starting Lineup: Los Angeles Dodgers

Statistics Versus Pedro Martinez

1. Rafael Furcal, SS (6/25, 0 HR, 3 K)

2. Matt Kemp, CF (2/3, 1 HR, 1 K)
3. Andre Ethier, RF (0/0, 0 HR, 0 K)
4. Manny Ramirez, LF (5/30, 1 HR, 13 K)
5. James Loney, 1B (0/0, 0 HR, 0 K)

6. Casey Blake, 3B (0/3, 0 HR, 2 K)
7. Ronnie Belliard, 2B (1/4, 0 HR, 1 K)
8 Russell Martin, C (2/3, 0 HR, 0 K)

Phillies NLCS Previews

Overview, Rotations, Bullpens, Hitters
Game Previews: One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Game Recaps: One, Two, Three, Four, Five