Phillies Welcome Cardinals To Town

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Phillies will be back in action tonight, opening a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park.

Last we saw the Phillies, they were getting swept over the weekend by the Arizona Diamondbacks. They have now lost 11 of their last 12, and since going two games above .500 at 11-9 back in late April, the Phillies have lost 37 of 48 games.

The struggles have led the Phillies to make some interesting roster moves today. OF Michael Saunders and RHP Jeanmar Gomez have been designated for assignment. Saunders has been a free agent disappointment, hitting just .205 in 61 games. Gomez had a 7.25 ERA in 18 appearances. To replace them on the roster, OF Cam Perkins and LHP Hoby Milner have been recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

RHP Jeremy Hellickson will be on the mound for the Phillies tonight. He is 5-5 with a 4.91 ERA for the season, but in his last nine starts he has gone 1-5 with an ERA of 6.89. Last time out, Hellickson lost to the Red Sox, allowing six runs in five innings of work. Hellickson is 2-2 against St. Louis in four career starts with a 4.91 ERA. One of those starts came during a series in St. Louis earlier this month, a series the Cardinals swept. On June 9, Hellickson allowed three runs on ten hits in six innings of work in a 3-2 loss.

St. Louis will counter on the mound with RHP Mike Leake. He is 5-6 with a 3.14 ERA. Leake has lost his last four starts.

KYW's Matt Leon spoke with Kevin Cooney of the Bucks County Courier Times about the roster moves the Phils made today and the impact they will have.

Matt also spoke with Bill Pollock of Missourinet to get a scout of the Cardinals.