NL Beast

The Game: San Francisco Giants (14-22) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (21-16)

The Matchup: Tim Lincecum (4-1, 1.49, 45/17 K/BB, 1.37 WHIP) vs. Jamie Moyer (2-2, 4.45, 17/10 K/BB, 1.59 WHIP)

The Story: Old versus new again for Jamie Moyer. The 45 year-old faces off against Tim Lincecum, only 23. Never mind the fact that Moyer is almost twice the age of his opponent, he’s pitched phenomenally against his expectations this year. Moyer is coming off his best start of the season: 7 innings, 5 strike outs, no walks, and only 2 earned runs. And he did that against the Diamondbacks, one of the hottest lineups in the league. The Giants have lost the last two Lincecum starts, after winning his first five outings. He outpitched Cole Hamels last week in Philadelphia, but the Giants pen was not able to hold it together.

Jimmy Rollins leads the way for the Phils. With three RBIs and three hits last night in his first game back from the DL, the Phillies hope his spark is contagious. Pat Burrell is hitting only .158 in the last week, and Chase Utley is not doing much better at .200. Yet, with good starting pitching and great relief, the Phillies are finding a way to win games. That’s certainly a mark of a winner. When you’re hot, everything just seems to go your way.

But it’s not all by chance that the Phils are winning despite the anemic performance of their stars. While Utley and Burrell struggle, Carlos Ruiz is hitting .350, Pedro Feliz is hitting .400, and Eric Bruntlett is hitting .308. Everyone on this team is contributing (sans Ryan Howard).

Stat of the Day: Pat Burrell’s BB/K ratio is 1.03 (30/29). That’s the best on the team, but good enough for only 17th in the NL. Albert Pujols leads the category with a ratio of 2.92 (35/12).

Lineups:
Phillies
Rollins (SS)
Victorino (CF)
Utley (2B)
Howard (1B)
Burrell (LF)
Jenkins (RF)
Feliz (3B)
Ruiz (C)
Moyer (P)

Giants
Lewis (LF)
Vizquel (SS)
Winn (RF)
Molina (C)
Rowand (CF)
Castillo (3B)
Burriss (SS)
Ortmeier (1B)
Lincecum (P)