Moyer Takes on Brewers
Jamie Moyer hasn’t faced the Milwaukee Brewers in nearly 10 years – when he was in the midst of his 11th big-league season.
Baseball’s oldest left-hander looks to continue his strong start to the season Monday night when the Philadelphia Phillies open a four-game series against the Brewers at Citizens Bank Park.
Oddsmakers have made Philadelphia -115 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for todays game, the over/under has been set at 10 total runs (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 59% of bets for this game have been placed on Philadelphia -115 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
The 44-year-old Moyer (4-2, 3.00 ERA) hasn’t pitched against Milwaukee (25-12) since Aug. 11, 1997, when he was with Seattle and the Brewers were still in the American League. He went 8-5 with a 3.46 ERA against them in 19 career appearances, including 14 starts, from 1989-97.
Only three hitters on Milwaukee’s current 25-man roster have ever faced Moyer. The only regular in that group is outfielder Kevin Mench, who’s hit .400 (10-for-25) against him.
Moyer hadn’t finished with an ERA lower than 4.00 in each of his three previous seasons, but has turned in a strong beginning to his first full season with Philadelphia (17-20). He’s limited hitters to a .215 batting average and has pitched at least seven innings in four of his last five outings.
The left-hander had an efficient 91-pitch outing his last time on the mound Wednesday when he gave up three runs over seven innings in a 9-3 victory at Arizona.
The Phillies, playing without injured reigning NL MVP Ryan Howard, had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Philadelphia managed only four singles, and the top three hitters in its lineup – Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth and Aaron Rowand – went 0-for-11.
Rollins was hitless in 12 at-bats over the weekend for Philadelphia as his average fell from .301 to .279. He’s a lifetime .245 hitter against Milwaukee in 39 games.
The Brewers, who own baseball’s best record, lost a series on the road for the first time all year by dropping two of three to the New York Mets. They also had a difficult time with the bats Sunday, managing only three hits in a 9-1 loss.
Despite losing the series, Milwaukee felt it played well against the team that won the most games in the National League a year ago.
"I felt pretty good about it," Brewers manager Ned Yost said about the series. "Our defense was really good. Our baserunning was good. We got outpitched in the final game, that’s all."
Struggling Dave Bush (3-3, 5.73) will get the start for Milwaukee. Bush has the worst ERA of any Brewers starter and is 1-1 with a 6.61 ERA in three road starts.
The right-hander, however, pitched well in his last outing, avoiding a third straight loss by giving up three runs over 6 2-3 innings in a 6-4 victory over Washington on Tuesday.
Bush had no record and a 6.35 ERA in two starts last season against the Phillies, his only career outings against them.
The Brewers went 5-1 against the Phillies last season, winning four times by one run.
by: Michael Cash – thespread.com – Email Us
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