Philadelphia @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 4, 2010 ) Philadelphia 7, Florida 2

Roy Oswalt's debut with the Philadelphia Phillies did not go according to plan.

The 32-year-old right-hander will look to redeem himself when he takes the hill on Thursday as the Phillies vie for a three-game series sweep against the Florida Marlins.

Thursday's contest will also cap a six-game road trip for Philadelphia, which will play 16 of its next 19 games at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are 32-17 at home this season.

Acquired from the Houston Astros for J.A. Happ and a pair of prospects, Oswalt (6-13, 3.53 ERA) was secured to aid Philadelphia in its attempt for a fourth straight NL East crown and third consecutive World Series berth.

Oswalt never got out of the blocks in his initial outing as a Phillie. Leadoff hitter Nyjer Morgan belted the first pitch he saw for a triple to set the tone as the Washington Nationals roughed up the three-time All-Star.

Oswalt's final line wasn't pretty: he allowed five runs on seven hits with two walks and two hit batsmen in six innings. The sum of the numbers added up to an 8-1 loss for the Phillies.

Fortunately for Philadelphia, those types of performances haven't been commonplace.

Winners of 11 of their last 13 games, the Fightin' Phils have trimmed their deficit in the NL East to two games behind the Atlanta Braves (61-46). The fourth-place Marlins (53-54) have fallen eight games off the pace.

Rookie Domonic Brown slapped an RBI single and drove in three runs and Kyle Kendrick tossed six strong innings Wednesday as Philadelphia cruised to a 7-2 triumph over Florida.

Raul Ibanez extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a run-scoring single and Ross Gload and Carlos Ruiz also added RBI singles in the victory.

The Marlins were paced by rookies Gaby Sanchez and Mike Stanton on Wednesday. Sanchez went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI single, while Stanton belted a solo homer in a losing effort.

Florida will look to stave off the sweep and prevent a fourth straight loss with 23-year-old right-hander Chris Volstad (5-8, 4.71 ERA).

The 16th overall pick of the 2005 draft, Volstad surrendered two runs and seven hits in five innings as the Marlins recorded a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres last Friday. Prior to that, his last triumph came on June 13.

Five days before that, Volstad allowed six runs and eight hits in just four innings of work against the Phillies. He received a no-decision, but Philadelphia managed to edge Florida 10-8 in that contest.