Phillies (78-41) vs. Diamondbacks (68-53), 7:05 p.m. on WPHL
Starting Pitchers
Phillies: Roy Halladay (15-4, 2.51 ERA) will try to win his fifth consecutive start when he takes the mound tonight. In his last outing more than a week ago, the Phils ace gave up one run and nine hits in 6 13 innings of a 5-3 win at Los Angeles last Monday.
Diamondbacks: Rookie Josh Collmenter (7-7, 3.51) gets the ball for Arizona. Hes 0-3 with a 7.08 ERA in his last four starts away from Chase Field, but allowed just two runs and four hits in seven innings in his last start on Wednesday against Houstona 6-3 Diamondbacks win.
Previous games
The Phillies have won 13 of their last 15 games, including Saturdays 11-3 drubbing of the Nationals. Sundays rubber match against Washington was rained out, and the team had an off-day on Monday.
Arizona has surged to a 2.5 game lead in the NL West, thanks to a six-game winning streak. Tonights game is the first of a 10-game road trip for the Diamondbacks.
Head-to-head
The Phillies have won their last eight games at home against Arizona, outscoring them 50-16 over that span. Arizona won two of three when the teams met in the desert in late April, however.
Who's hot?
Ryan Howard paced the Phillies offense on Saturday with a home run and four RBIs. ... In his last 10 home starts, all Phillies wins, Halladay is 7-0 with a 2.01 ERA. Hell be trying to win 16 games for the sixth consecutive season.
MLB
Justin Upton has hit safely in each of the last six games for Arizona, going 13-for-24 (.542) with three home runs and seven RBIs.
Storylines
Halladay has had plenty of time to rest between starts, as the Phillies have had two off-days and one rain out in a seven-day span. Although the numbers dont reflect it, Halladay hadnt had his best stuff in recent outings and should end up benefitting from the extra rest. ... If the season ended today, the Phillies and Diamondbacks would meet in the first round of the playoffs.
Sound off
How confident would you be if the Phillies played Arizona in the first round of the playoffs?