Phillies v Braves live streaming baseball 4/9: Roy Oswalt may not get the recognition of his fellow aces in the Philadelphia Phillies' vaunted rotation, but he's piling up victories at an impressive pace.
He's never been able to get one against the Atlanta Braves, however.
Oswalt will be in for a stiff test as he attempts to match his career high by winning a ninth consecutive decision as the Phillies face the Braves in the middle game of this series at Turner Field on Saturday.
Oswalt (1-0, 3.00 ERA) is third in a rotation that includes Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, who have combined to win three Cy Young Awards.
Oswalt never finished higher than third in Cy Young Award voting, but is unbeaten in 13 games -- 12 starts -- since being charged with an 8-1 loss at Washington on July 30 in his debut for the Phillies (5-2) following his acquisition from Houston. The right-hander is since 8-0 with a 1.52 ERA, including 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA in five road starts.
1:10 PM ET, April 9, 2011
Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia
Another victory would match the longest winning streak of his career, most recently accomplished while bridging 2006-07.
Oswalt's current streak continued Sunday when he yielded two runs with six strikeouts in six innings of a 7-3 win against the Astros. He's gaining motivation from following Halladay and Lee in the rotation.
"It pushes you," Oswalt said. "You know those guys are going to give you a quality start every time and you don't want to be the guy that gives it up. It's going to push us all the way through the year."
He won't need to be much better to outpitch Lee, who was tagged for six runs and 10 hits before getting lifted with one out in the fourth of a 6-3 loss at Atlanta (4-4) on Friday.
Oswalt has his own troubles with the Braves, going 0-3 with a 6.21 ERA in nine games. He did allow one hit with eight strikeouts in seven innings without getting a decision in a 1-0 home win over Atlanta on Sept. 22.
The Phillies have dropped five of seven visits to Turner, and Chipper Jones will be looking to maintain Atlanta's success.
Jones is off to a hot start to his 18th season, going 10 for 29 with four doubles and six RBIs. The third baseman collected two hits and three RBIs Friday, giving him 2,500 hits for his career to become the ninth switch-hitter to reach the milestone.
He's three RBIs shy of joining Hall of Famer Eddie Murray as the only switch-hitters with at least 2,500 hits and 1,500 RBIs.
"He's just been a good, solid hitter his whole career," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's not a lifetime .300 hitter for nothing."
Jones is hitting .368 with seven homers and 21 RBIs over his last 30 home meetings with the Phillies, but is just 4 for 15 off Oswalt.
Brandon Beachy (0-0, 1.50) gets the ball for the Braves looking to build on an impressive season debut. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits while fanning seven in six innings and did not get a decision in Monday's 2-1 win at Milwaukee.
"He gets in some jams," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He doesn't give in. He makes some tough pitches. His stuff got better as the game went on. His command of the breaking ball got better."
Beachy has made two of his four career starts against Philadelphia, losing both. He gave up four runs -- two earned -- in 5 2/3 innings of an 11-5 loss to the Phillies at Turner on Oct. 1.
He's never been able to get one against the Atlanta Braves, however.
Oswalt will be in for a stiff test as he attempts to match his career high by winning a ninth consecutive decision as the Phillies face the Braves in the middle game of this series at Turner Field on Saturday.
Oswalt (1-0, 3.00 ERA) is third in a rotation that includes Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, who have combined to win three Cy Young Awards.
Oswalt never finished higher than third in Cy Young Award voting, but is unbeaten in 13 games -- 12 starts -- since being charged with an 8-1 loss at Washington on July 30 in his debut for the Phillies (5-2) following his acquisition from Houston. The right-hander is since 8-0 with a 1.52 ERA, including 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA in five road starts.
1:10 PM ET, April 9, 2011
Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia
Another victory would match the longest winning streak of his career, most recently accomplished while bridging 2006-07.
Oswalt's current streak continued Sunday when he yielded two runs with six strikeouts in six innings of a 7-3 win against the Astros. He's gaining motivation from following Halladay and Lee in the rotation.
"It pushes you," Oswalt said. "You know those guys are going to give you a quality start every time and you don't want to be the guy that gives it up. It's going to push us all the way through the year."
He won't need to be much better to outpitch Lee, who was tagged for six runs and 10 hits before getting lifted with one out in the fourth of a 6-3 loss at Atlanta (4-4) on Friday.
Oswalt has his own troubles with the Braves, going 0-3 with a 6.21 ERA in nine games. He did allow one hit with eight strikeouts in seven innings without getting a decision in a 1-0 home win over Atlanta on Sept. 22.
The Phillies have dropped five of seven visits to Turner, and Chipper Jones will be looking to maintain Atlanta's success.
Jones is off to a hot start to his 18th season, going 10 for 29 with four doubles and six RBIs. The third baseman collected two hits and three RBIs Friday, giving him 2,500 hits for his career to become the ninth switch-hitter to reach the milestone.
He's three RBIs shy of joining Hall of Famer Eddie Murray as the only switch-hitters with at least 2,500 hits and 1,500 RBIs.
"He's just been a good, solid hitter his whole career," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's not a lifetime .300 hitter for nothing."
Jones is hitting .368 with seven homers and 21 RBIs over his last 30 home meetings with the Phillies, but is just 4 for 15 off Oswalt.
Brandon Beachy (0-0, 1.50) gets the ball for the Braves looking to build on an impressive season debut. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits while fanning seven in six innings and did not get a decision in Monday's 2-1 win at Milwaukee.
"He gets in some jams," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He doesn't give in. He makes some tough pitches. His stuff got better as the game went on. His command of the breaking ball got better."
Beachy has made two of his four career starts against Philadelphia, losing both. He gave up four runs -- two earned -- in 5 2/3 innings of an 11-5 loss to the Phillies at Turner on Oct. 1.
