Phillies Preview: NLDS Game Four

National League Division Series - Game Four

Philadelphia Phillies (2-1) v. Colorado Rockies (1-2)
Monday October 12, 2009 - 6:07pm ET

Coors Field, Denver, CO

55° F - Sunny

Cliff Lee, LHP (1-0, 1.00) v. Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP (0-1, 9.00)

As the National League Division Series shifts to game four, the Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies will both send their game one starters to the hill again. Cliff Lee takes the ball and will look to replicate his masterful complete game in the initial game. Meanwhile, the Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez will look to rebound from a disappointing outing to get his team back in the series. The game will be played in much warmer conditions than game three, and both teams will look to take advantage of better pitching conditions. With a win, the Phillies can advance to their second consecutive National League Championship Series.

Starting Pitcher: Cliff Lee, Phillies

Cliff Lee commanded all of his pitches in game one and threw a lot of first pitch strikes to the Rockies. Lee exploited their patience to get the jump on them, before putting hitters away with ease. The veteran lefty will look to duplicate this game plan and throw a lot of strikes against the Rockies. Lee's presence also helps to negate many of the lefty hitters on the Rockies, who have yet to make a major impact on the series. Lee will most likely face a lineup very similar to the one he saw in game one, so the matchups will be the same.

Starting Pitcher: Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies

Ubaldo Jimenez got roughed up a bit in the wind in game one in Philadelphia. He was cruising along against the Phillies lineup until he ran into trouble in the sixth inning. Jimenez will need to keep his pitch count down and go deep into the game to save a depleted Rockies bullpen tonight. Even more, he needs to command his breaking pitches so that Phillies hitters cannot get locked in on his very hard fastball. Jimenez is a much better pitcher than he showed on Wednesday, so the Phillies offense may have a long night ahead of them.

Starting Lineup: Philadelphia Phillies
Statistics versus Ubaldo Jimenez
1. Jimmy Rollins, SS (2/6, 0 HR, 0 K)
2. Shane Victorino, CF (3/5, 0 HR, 0 K)
3. Chase Utley, 2B (2/5, 0 HR, 1 K)
4. Ryan Howard, 1B (2/5, 1 HR, 1 K)
5. Jayson Werth, RF (0/0, 0 HR, 0 K)
6. Raul Ibanez, LF (0/0, 0 HR, 0 K)
7. Pedro Feliz, 3B (3/4, 1 HR, 1 K)
8. Carlos Ruiz, C (0/3, 0 HR, 1 K)

Starting Lineup: Colorado Rockies
Statistics versus Cliff Lee
1. Carlos Gonzalez, RF (0/0 BA, 0 HR, 0 K)

2. Dexter Fowler, CF (2/4, 0 HR, 1 K)
3. Todd Helton, 1B (0/2, 0 HR, 0 K)
4. Troy Tulowitzki, SS (1/3, 0 HR, 1 K)
5. Garrett Atkins, 3B (0/3, 0 HR, 1 K)
6. Yorvit Torrealba, C (0/0, 0 HR, 0 K)
7. Seth Smith, LF (2/4, 0 HR, 1 K)
8. Clint Barmes, 2B (0/3, 0 HR, 1 K)

Phillies NLDS Previews
Overview, Rotations, Bullpens, Hitters, Benches
Game Previews: One, Two, Three, Four
Game Recaps: One, Two, Three, Four