Philadelphia @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 13, 2012 ) Philadelphia 4, Miami 0

The Philadelphia Phillies will not win their sixth straight National League East title, but they'll have a say in the playoff race. The Phillies, who are 18 1/2 games behind the first-place Washington Nationals in the East, will try for their fourth win in five games when they visit the Miami Marlins on Tuesday. While aces Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are having seasons to forget, Cole Hamels is in top form. He recorded his straight shutout with a seven-hitter in Philadelphia's 4-0 victory Monday.

The Marlins, who have lost six of their last nine games, had their five-game winning streak against the Phillies snapped. Miami has its own hot pitcher. Josh Johnson is 2-1 with a 1.75 ERA and 26 strikeouts in his last four starts covering 25 1/3 innings and is 1-1 against the Phillies this season. He will oppose Philadelphia's Kyle Kendrick, who has struggled in two starts since returning to the rotation after the Phillies traded Joe Blanton to the Los Angeles. Kendrick, though, is 8-2 against the Marlins, including a victory in 2012.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CS Philadelphia, FS Florida (Miami)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (4-9, 4.86 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Josh Johnson (7-8, 3.88)

Kendrick has allowed nine runs (eight earned) and 12 hits in 7 1/3 innings in losses to Atlanta 12-6 on Wednesday and Arizona 4-2 on Aug. 3, although he didn't receive a decision in the Braves game. As a starter this season, he is 2-8 with a 5.01 ERA, including a 6-4 victory at Miami on June 1 when he allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings. The Marlins' roster is hitting .296 against Kendrick, with Jose Reyes 12-for-28 with two homers and four RBIs.

Despite a 6-1 loss to New York on Thursday when he allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings, Johnson lately has resembled the pitcher who is 55-31 lifetime with a 3.12 ERA. He beat the red-hot Nationals in his previous start, yielding two runs (one earned) and falling one out shy of a complete game. Johnson is 6-4 with a 3.54 ERA against the Phillies and held them to one run in a 6-2 victory June 29. The Phillies' roster is hitting .262 against him, with Ryan Howard at .303 with three homers and eight RBIs.

WALK-OFFS

1. Philadelphia 1B Howard, who missed the first 84 games after rupturing his left Achilles tendon, made his season debut against the Marlins and went 0-for-4. He is hitting .305 with 34 homers and 97 RBIs in 114 games (400 at-bats) lifetime against Miami.

2. Jimmy Rollins tied Larry Bowa for the most games played as a shortstop in Phillies history with 1,730.

3. Miami RHP Carlos Zambrano allowed one run in two innings Monday and is 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA in six relief appearances since he was demoted to the bullpen July 27. He was 5-9 with a 4.45 ERA in 20 starts.