Phillies (98-53) vs. Cardinals (83-69), 7:05 p.m. on CSN
Starting Pitchers
Phillies: Roy Halladay (18-5, 2.43) has allowed just one run in his last 17 innings on the mound. He is in the top five of all major pitching categories in the NL and remains in the running for the leagues Cy Young award.
Cardinals: Kyle Lohse (13-8, 3.62) has won five of his last six decisions, but his ERA since the All-Star break is a full point higher than it was in the first half of the season. Lohse allowed three earned runs on eight hits in his last start, a six-inning no-decision against the Pirates.
Previous games
The Phils have lost two of the series first three games against the Cardinals. The last contest ended in a 5-0 victory for St. Louis as Allen Craig led the Cardinals offensively with two homers. Albert Pujols added a roundtripper of his own, and Chris Carpenter tossed eight shutout innings on the mound.
Head-to-head
The Phils are 3-4 against the Cardinals this season, but theyve outscored St. Louis by four runs in five total gamesHalladay is 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA in three career starts against the CardinalsPujols, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman are a combined 2-for-16 (.125) against HalladayIn nine starts against the Phils, Lohse is 2-4 with a 3.91 ERARyan Howard is 8-for-16 (.500)against Lohse with two homers and eight RBIs.
Whos hot?
Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Chase Utley, who hit 1-2-3 in the Phils batting order, are a combined 11-for-24 (.458) over the last two gamesAllen Craig was 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs in Sunday nights game.
Storylines
Halladay likely has tonights start plus one more before the season ends. If he wins both contests, he will post back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in his career. It would be the first time a National League pitcher has accomplished the feat since Roy Oswalt did it in 2004 and 2005.
Sound off
After tonight, Halladay will have totaled over 220 innings for the sixth straight season. He is also 34 years old. Do you have any worries about his health over the next couple years?