BOX SCORE

The Phillies offense exploded on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park for a 7-1 victory over the Miami Marlins. The onslaught came with a five-run third inning when Juan Pierre started a rally with a one-out single and stolen base to set the table for three consecutive singles.

The biggest hit of the inning came when rookie second baseman Freddy Galvis laced a two-out, bases-loaded double to left off Marlins ace, Josh Johnson.

Galvis has two hits this season and they are both two-run doubles in games at the Bank against the Marlins.

The Phillies improved to 2-3 with the victory.

Starting pitching report
Roy Halladay picked up his second win of the season in his second time out. In earning his 42nd win as a Phillie, Halladay pitched seven innings, allowing a run on five hits and a walk. Halladay whiffed three hitters and threw 14 first-pitch strikes to the 27 batters he faced.

Marlins ace Josh Johnson was knocked out after 3 23 innings after being roughed up for six runs on a career-high 11 hits. Johnson walked one and picked up one strikeout.

Bullpen report
Chad Qualls pitched a perfect eighth inning before turning it over to Michael Stutes for the ninth inning. In his first outing of the season, Stutes pitched a 1-2-3 inning to close it out.

At the plate
To chants of, Freddy! Freddy!, the rookie Galvis doubled in a pair of runs to cap off the five-run third. However, the slugging star of the game was Carlos Ruiz, who went 2 for 3 with a double and a solo homer in the seventh. Ruiz is 6 for 13 this season with the two extra-base hits.

Meanwhile, Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins, Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino all had multiple hits. As the Phillies Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters, the trio went 9 for 16 with five runs and four RBIs.

Health check
Before the game general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced that both Ryan Howard and Chase Utley were progressing with their injuries (see story). However, the GM had no timetable for when either player would be ready to return to baseball activities.

Attendance
The Phillies announced a paid crowd of 45,359 on a chilly Wednesday night. It was the 206th consecutive sellout at Citizens Bank Park, according to the Phillies.

Up next
The Phillies and Marlins play the rubber match of the three-game set on Thursday night when righthander Joe Blanton makes his season debut against Marlins lefty Mark Buehrle (0-1, 3.00). Blanton is 6-2 with a 3.33 ERA in nine career starts against the Marlins.

E-mail John Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com.