Game 50: Tell That Son Of A ***** No Phillie Will Ever Lose to Houston (2/4)

Except maybe tonight's starters.

Philadelphia Phillies: 27-22
Houston Astros: 27-22

Adam Eaton (0-2 5.59 ERA, 3-1 4.43 ERA)
Brandon Backe (3-5 4.58 ERA, 0-1 10.29 ERA)

Projected lineups:

Rollins SS 2/2, 1.000/1.000/1.500
Victorino CF N/A
Utley 2B 2/5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .400/.400/1.000
Howard 1B 2/4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .500/.500/1.250
Burrell LF 1/2, 1 RBI, .500/.750/.500
Jenkins RF 4/9, 2 RBI, .444/.444/.667
Feliz 3B 0/2
Coste C 1/2, 1 RBI, .500/.500/1.000
Eaton P

Bourn CF 1/3, .333/.333/.333
Matsui 2B 2/3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .667/.667/1.667
Tejada SS 3/10, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .300/.417/.600
Berkman 1B 5/14, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .357/.571/.643
Lee LF 3/11, 1 RBI, .373/.250/.364
Pence RF 1/5, 1 RBI, .200/.167/.200
Wigginton 3B N/A
Towles C N/A
Backe P

The Astros hope that Brandon Backe has a short term memory because his last start against the Phillies was absolutely forgettable. He gave up 5 ER in 3 IP, and the Phillies were well on their way towards a rout of Houston. Even if Backe has another bad start, the 'Stros should be able to survive. Against Adam Eaton, they'll be able to put runs on the board themselves. 7 might not be enough to win tonight.

Jayson Werth strained an abdominal muscle in last night's game. He's listed as day to day, and he'll probably miss about 1-2 weeks. That's a tough injury for the Phillies to handle because it might not be serious enough to warrant a DL stint, but he still might not be able to play. That could leave them short on the bench again, like what happened before Rollins went on the DL before his ankle injury.

Game 16: Astros at Phillies (3/3)

Houston Astros: 6-9
Philadelphia Phillies: 7-8

Brandon Backe (1-1 2.25 ERA, 0-0 6.75 ERA)
Brett Myers (1-1 5.00 ERA, 2-2 5.59 ERA)

Projected lineups:

Bourn CF N/A
Loretta 2B 6/18, 1 RBI, .333/.368/.333
Berkman 1B 2/14, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .143/.294/.357
Lee LF 3/5, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .600/.600/1.800
Tejada SS 2/3, 1 RBI, .667/.800/1.000
Blum 3B 0/6, .000/.143/.000
Pence RF N/A
Ausmus C 5/11, .455/.500/.545
Backe P

Werth CF 0/3
Utley 2B 0/2, 1 RBI
Burrell LF 0/1, .000/.500/.000
Howard 1B 1/2, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .500/.500/2.000
Jenkins RF 3/7, 1 RBI, .429/.429/.571
Feliz 3B 0/2
Coste C N/A
Bruntlett SS N/A
Myers P

The offense has to get going. For the most part, they've been shut down the past two games, and even over the entire season, I don't think they're hitting as well as they can yet. The problems may start and end with Ryan Howard. With Utley and Burrell hitting well, Howard's the guy in the middle of the lineup that's yet to get off the ground. It's only a matter of time.

Once again, without Rollins and Victorino, no one knows what's going on at the top of the lineup. I still think Werth leading off and sliding Utley up one is the best idea. Hopefully one or both of them can make it back soon.