Game Three
Cincinnati, OH – Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was looking pretty smart while his club was consistently delivering at the plate in winning its first four games after he adjusted the batting order.
Manuel was justifiably frustrated to see that streak come to an end.
The Phillies look to bounce back from one of their worst offensive performances of the year as they close a three-game road series against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook SBG Global have made the Reds -115 moneyline favorites for Thursday’s game against the Phillies. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 56% of more than 143 bets for this game have been placed on the Reds -115.
For Saturday’s doubleheader against Washington, Manuel moved hot-hitting left fielder Raul Ibanez to the No. 3 spot in the lineup from No. 6, where he’d spent most of the season.
The Phillies (21-17) responded by totaling 23 hits and 15 runs in the sweep, the first two of four straight wins with their new-look order.
Philadelphia averaged 6.8 runs and hit .303 during that streak but managed only four hits and struck out 10 times while getting frustrated by Cincinnati starter Aaron Harang in a 5-1 loss Wednesday night.
Ibanez, batting .316 (6 for 19) with four homers and nine RBIs in the No. 3 spot over the last five games, accounted for the team’s only run with his team-leading 14th homer in the fourth inning.
"(Harang) made us look bad," said Manuel, whose club has been held to four hits or fewer four times this year. "We didn’t handle nothing about him. He carved up two or three of our hitters, he really carved ’em up."
Owners of the best road record in the majors at 13-5, the Phillies have lost consecutive games away from home only once – May 6 and 7 against the New York Mets.
They’ll try to avoid another pair of back-to-back road defeats against a Cincinnati team that feels it’s back on track. The Reds (21-18) snapped a season-high four-game losing streak Wednesday, and second baseman Brandon Phillips said the skid was a wakeup call.
"It was like, ‘We’re losing too many games.’ We went out there aggressive against (Philadelphia starter Jamie Moyer)," Phillips told the Reds’ official Web site after going 2 for 3 with three RBIs on Wednesday. "We showed the Phillies and everybody that we’re back."
The Reds hope they can deliver a similar effort to back Micah Owings (3-4, 3.95 ERA), who seeks a third consecutive solid outing. The right-hander held Arizona to one run and four hits in seven innings of a 3-1 victory in his last start May 12. He allowed two hits in 5 2-3 innings of relief Saturday before giving up the winning home run in the 16th inning of a 6-5 loss at San Diego.
Owings is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in four games – three starts – against Philadelphia. Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is 1 for 7 with four strikeouts against him.
The Phillies will hand the ball to Joe Blanton (1-3, 6.86), who gave up four runs while walking a career-high six in five innings of his last start Friday. Philadelphia went on to win that game 10-6 in 12 innings over Washington.
Blanton allowed one run in eight innings to win his only previous game against Cincinnati while pitching for Oakland in 2007.
Posted: 5/21/09 1:10AM ET