Surging Phillies open road swing at Dodgers
LOS ANGELES -- Riding a six-game winning streak, the Philadelphia Phillies are brimming with confidence.
"The way we're playing right now, we're not afraid of anybody," first baseman Brock Stassi told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We've faced some good pitching already. The Mets and the Nationals have great pitching staffs. Even the Marlins, too. It goes to show we grind out at-bats."
The Phillies (11-9) open a seven-game road swing Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers (11-12) at Dodger Stadium.
Struggling Dodgers right-hander Kentra Maeda (1-2, 8.05 ERA) will oppose Phillies righty Jerad Eickhoff (0-1, 2.55) in the opener.
Stassi's RBI triple in the sixth inning was the difference in the Phillies' 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Thursday at Philadelphia. The Phillies got another solid effort from Jeremy Hellickson (4-0), who allowed a run on seven hits in six innings to tie Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw for the National League lead in wins.
Eickhoff has received no-decisions in his past three starts. In his last outing against the Atlanta Braves on Monday, Eickoff struck out seven, walked two and gave up a run on two hits in five innings in a 4-3 win by the Phillies.
In his only start against the Dodgers last season, Eickhoff fanned eight with two walks, allowing four runs on seven hits in six innings, but didn't factor into the decision. Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner and catcher Yasmani Grandal each homered off Eickhoff.
After a slow start, Maikel Franco has heated up for the Phillies. Franco is batting .350 with two home runs and 10 RBI in his last seven games. Overall, Franco is hitting .221 with four home runs and 20 RBI.
Franco has a .292 batting average with two homers and nine RBI in 54 at-bats against Los Angeles.
Maeda is coming off his worst performance, serving up a career-high six runs on nine hits in five innings in an 11-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks last Friday. Maeda struck out five and walked one.
In two career starts against the Phillies, Maeda is 2-0 with a 4.09 ERA.
Corey Seager homered for the second game in a row, the latter blast coming on his 23rd birthday Thursday, and the Dodgers scored four runs in the 10th for a 5-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers split their four-game series with the Giants.
Seager, the 2016 National League Rookie of the Year, is batting .429 with two homers and five RBI in his past seven contests. For the season, Seager has five homers with 17 RBI and a .318 batting average.
Seager is batting .423 with two home runs and three RBI in 26 at-bats against the Phillies.
The Dodgers managed just six runs in three games against the Giants before Thursday. Manager Dave Roberts isn't worried about his offense though.
"We know our bats will come around," Roberts said, according to The Orange County Register. "We know how good we are. We know how much talent we have. We know we're going to win baseball games. The way we've been inconsistent in different facets of the game and still find ourselves one game under .500. I think we're in a good spot."
