Brewers at Phillies Series Preiew 7/23 to 7/25

Milwaukee Brewers (44-50) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (42-54)

Citizens Bank Park

Probable Starters

Monday July 23rd 6:05pm

Game 1

Randy Wolf (3-6 5.60 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (4-5 3.96 ERA)

Tuesday July 24th 6:05pm

Game 2

Zack Greinke (9-3 3.57 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (1-6 3.72 ERA)

Wednesday July 25th 12:05pm

Game 3

Marco Estrada (0-4 4.10 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (5-6 3.82 ERA)

This series in Philly is a battle between two teams cursed after losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 Post-Season. Philadelphia went from being perennial division leaders for the past 4 years to bottom dwellers thanks to injuries and a decline in pitching.

The Brewers are in a similar decline just the Brewers are coming off one year of success, and they were just swept by a division rival on the road. They most likely are sellers and will be looking forward to the future, not 2012. So setting the table, this is a series of losers vs. losers.

The best chance for the Brewers to win is in Game 1. Wolf is 1-0 with a 4.60 ERA in his last 3 starts. That’s not good, but where it becomes great for the Brewers is in over the course of Halladay’s last 3 starts he is 0-2 with a 7.62 ERA. Along with Wolf’s great career numbers against the Phillies, this is the best matchup of the series for the Crew.

They also stand a good chance in Game 2, what will most likely be the last start Greinke makes a s a Brewer in 2012. Greinke is coming off a long break after starting three games in a row, and if you believe Roenicke and Melvin, that should help him perform better. Greinke’s recent numbers aren’t strong, but it’s in a very limited showing. On the other hand, Lee has been one of the Phillies best starters, but as you can tell by his 1-6 record, his teams isn’t backing him up in those starts.

Overall these two teams look equally matched and the best part? Both rosters could be completely different by Wednesday since they are both rumored sellers. In an equally matched series, I go with the home team to take the win. I’m guessing the Phillies come away 2-1 winning games 2 and 3.

-Brad