Phils Get Swept and Are D-Town Bound

THE CARDINALS SERIES

The Phillies look to rebound against the Detroit Tigers after a horrible a set of losses at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals. After getting swept they added to their losing streak, making it 5 games. Game 1 and 2 starters Johnathon Pettibone, and John Lannan both gained their fourth losses on the season. The third and final game in this series at Busch Stadium resulted in a 3-1 loss. Cardinals' starter, Shelby Miller allowed three hits over six innings en route to his 10th win on the season and the Cards' 60th total. Allen Craig was a key player in the game driving in a pair of runs. Eight different Redbirds tallied  hits, while John Mayberry's double in the seventh gave the Phightens their lone run. The second game is one to be forgotten by PHI fans as the Cards scored 11 runs. Jake Westbrook tossed seven strong innings, while, Shane Robinson and Matt Adams combined for 6 runs as the Cardinals overwhelmed the Phillies, who dropped their fourth straight. The box score just tells you the story from that game showing that the Cardinals got 16 hits. They're a team who doesn't have a lot of power with 82 bombs on the season, but rank second in total hitting by mlb.com. The next National League team in the rankings are the number 6 ranked team, the Los Angelas Dodgers. The next divisional foe would drop 13 spots from STL being the Cincinnati Reds at 15.  These Redbirds look like they aren't missing much of this guy named Albert being the best-and hottest-team in baseball. The Cards' next series are against the Atlanta Braves and the streaking Pittsburgh Pirates.

Motor City Here We Come!

After a 4 game set against the last place Chicago White Sox, the Tigers took 3/4 from them as they improve to 56-45 on the season, 1st in the American League Central. Miguel Cabrera is the name everyone has been talking about this season, he leads the Tigers in every major batting category. he also boasts a .944 fielding percentage. The D-Town lineup is a force to be reckoned with for sure. Here's the lineup from yesterday's game against the Chi-Town White Sox compared to the Phillies lineup from yesterday's series-sweeping loss.

1. Austin Jackson          1. Jimmy Rollins

2. Torii Hunter              2. Michael Young

3. Miguel Cabrera         3. Chase Utley

4. Prince Fielder            4. Dominic Brown

5. Victor Martinez         5. Darin Ruf

6. Johnny Peralta          6. Delmon Young (former Detroit Tiger)

7. Andy Dirks              7. John Mayberry Jr.

8. Brayan Pena             8. Carlos Ruiz

9. Ramon Santiago       9. Kyle Kendrick

Probable Starters:

Cole Hamels vs. Doug Fister

Cliff Lee vs. Max Scherzer

Jonathan Pettibone vs. Rick Porcello

Battle of the Aces coming up this weekend! I predict Phillies will be able to take one or three from the heavy hitting Tigers team. It might not be a successful series at Comerica Park, but it will be an entertaining one!