Phillies Preview: September 9, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies (78-58) at Washington Nationals (47-91)
7:05pm - Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

Cliff Lee, LHP (12-11, 3.06) v. Garrett Mock, RHP (3-7, 5.63)

After two poor outings in a row, Cliff Lee will look to rebound against the Washington Nationals. He has been hit hard lately and will need to improve his command in order to succeed. He will face off with Garrett Mock, the young righty for the Nats. Mock has had a rough season this year, but is still a very capable pitcher. The Phillies will need a strong performance from Lee and a patient approach at the plate.

Cliff Lee has struggled after getting off to a fast start as a Phillie. In his last two games, he has been hit around and took the loss in both. He will face off with a team he has seen very little of in the past. Current Nats are hitting .324 in just 43 plate appearances over their careers. Lee will look to keep his pitches down and put away more hitters in this outing. If he can avoid deep counts, Lee can go the distance against an average Nationals lineup.

For the Nationals, Garrett Mock will take the mound. The youngster has not had much experience in the majors and the Nationals are clearly trying to get him some more seasoning in the big leagues. He has limited experience against Phillies hitters, who have hit .281 in 35 lifetime appearances against the righty. mock will really need to locate and command the strike zone effectively against a Phillies lineup that mashed five homers last night.

The Phillies bounced back last night after the sweep and will look to continue that momentum in Washington, D.C. With the young righty on the mound, the Phillies must be patient and wait him out. Mock throws very hittable pitches, so they will need to take advantage of that. With Cliff Lee on the mound, the Phils hope to get a strong performance and some confidence back for their lefty co-ace.