Philadelphia @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 18, 2012 ) Philadelphia 4, Milwaukee 3
Ryan Braun has certainly gotten healthy at the expense of the Philadelphia Phillies. After being mired in a 6-for-42 stretch, Braun has belted four homers in the first three games of this series. The reigning National League MVP will look to keep the good times rolling as the Milwaukee Brewers attempt to take three of four versus Philadelphia. Braun is 13-for-23 (.565) with six homers and two doubles against the Phillies this season.
Sunday starter Kyle Kendrick will be charged with the task of keeping Braun in check for the Phillies, who snapped a three-game skid with a 4-3 triumph Saturday. Ryan Howard is also having a nice series, going 6-for-13 while his RBI double Saturday proved to be the winning run. The Phillies have taken four of six against the Brewers this season.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, WB17 (Philadelphia), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (5-9, 4.53 ERA) vs. Brewers LH Randy Wolf (3-9, 5.65)
Kendrick turned in a gem in his last outing, scattering five hits and striking out six over seven scoreless innings versus Miami on Tuesday. The 27-year-old pitched well in relief against the Brewers on July 25, but has lost all three career decisions to them. Milwaukee is hitting .315 against Kendrick.
Wolf suffered his third straight loss after permitting six runs on 10 hits in five innings against Colorado on Tuesday. The 35-year-old pitched well versus Philadelphia, but settled for a no-decision after yielding two runs over six innings on July 23. Wolf, who pitched with the Phillies from 1999-2006, is 3-2 in eight career starts against his former team.
WALK-OFFS
1. Milwaukee 3B Aramis Ramirez homered for the second time in three games and has hit safely in seven of his last nine contests.
2. Philadelphia 2B Chase Utley has also hit safely in seven of his last nine games, but is only 4-for-16 in his career versus Wolf.
3. Brewers 2B Rickie Weeks received his first day off in nearly two months Saturday. Weeks has been swinging a hot bat, going 28-for-80 with four homers and 11 RBIs in his last 22 games.