Phils Cards Preview

Tonight the Phillies will take on the St. Louis Cardinals at 7:05 on ESPN in game 1 of a quick 2 game series. The Phils will be looking to finish their road trip strong while the Cardinals look to rebound after being swept by the Reds.

The Phils will send Cliff Lee to the mound tonight who hasn't won in over a month. Lee's last win came on April 14th when he threw a complete game shutout against the Nationals. Since then Lee has had games where he has struggled and other games where the Phils failed to score runs for him. The Cardinals will counter with Jake Westbrook who is coming off an awful start in which he went 2.1 innings and gave up 5 runs.

Roy Oswalt will get the start tomorrow night in his first game back since April 26th. Roy first left the Phillies for personal reasons and then was placed on the 15 Day DL for back problems. Oswalt will be opposed by Jaime Garcia who has been dominant thus far for the Cardinals. The young lefty is 5-0 with a 1.89 ERA. Unfortunately I expect the Phils are to have a tough time against this guy.

Overall this quick series should be a good test for the Phils. I think the Phils will take both games partially because this is a homecoming for Ryan Howard. Howard always seems to do well in his hometown and he could be the difference maker of this series. And as a former Astro, I expect Oswalt to have success against a former division rival.