Phillies Notes: Phils facing Kershaw, Greinke, Bumgarner in succession

LOS ANGELES - For the Phillies' recently improved offense, the game Wednesday night against reigning National League MVP Clayton Kershaw marked the beginning of a three-day gauntlet of opposing starters.

Given recent performances, Thursday's starter might pose the stiffest challenge of the three. Dodgers righthander Zack Greinke enters the series finale riding a streak of 272/3 consecutive scoreless innings over his last four starts.

Greinke, 31, boasts a major-league best 1.48 ERA this season. The former American League Cy Young Award winner will pitch in his third career All-Star Game on Tuesday in Cincinnati.

"He's a doctor out there," Jimmy Rollins said this week. "It's almost like he just makes up pitches. . . . he makes up at what speed he wants to throw certain pitches, and it's pretty amazing to watch him go out there. . . . He's just been dealing."

Greinke has a 2.48 ERA against the Phillies over 361/3 innings in five starts.

Then, the Phillies will face reigning World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner on Friday in San Francisco.

"Well, I'd prefer not to face them," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said, "but at the same time we beat some [good pitchers.] We beat [Michael] Wacha and we beat a couple other guys that were pretty good pitchers. . . .

"It's not always who you face, it's when you face them. There aren't many pitchers that don't go through at least half a dozen starts where they don't have their good stuff. If you catch them on that day and you're swinging the bats like we are lately, things could work well for us."

Jonathan Pettibone will go under the knife for the second consecutive summer.

Thirteen months removed from an operation to repair a torn labrum, the Phillies righthander will undergo additional surgery on his shoulder on July 22. The news came two days after Pettibone, 24, needed to come off the mound while pitching a simulated game in Clearwater.

Pettibone started 18 games for the Phillies in 2013 and two last season. He has been on the team's 60-day disabled list since the beginning of the season.

Friday's pitching matchup between Cole Hamels and Bumgarner will be the first pitting former World Series MVPs against each other since Aug. 12, 2011, when Hamels started opposite Washington's Livan Hernandez. . . . Sean O'Sullivan, outrighted after Monday's loss, has reported to triple-A Lehigh Valley.

- Jake Kaplan