Philadelphia @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 28, 2011 ) Florida 0, Philadelphia 0
THE STORY: The Philadelphia Phillies look to keep the Florida Marlins firmly in the cellar in the National League East when the two teams open a three-game series on Friday in the Sunshine State. The clubs are going in the opposite direction as the Phillies have won seven of 10, while the Marlins have lost seven of 10 - including four of five against the Mets. Philadelphia has dominated the series, winning nine of 13 games this season.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), FSFL (Florida)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Roy Oswalt (6-8, 3.77 ERA) vs. Marlins LH Brad Hand (1-4, 4.08 ERA)
Oswalt was slammed in his last start, giving up six runs and 12 hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Marlins. That came on the heels of back-to-back wins when he allowed three hits and struck out 14 over 15 innings against the Washington Nationals. Oswalt is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts against the Marlins this year and has a career mark of 6-5 with a 3.96 ERA.
Hand was hammered in his last start against the Braves on Aug. 8, when he allowed seven runs, nine hits and three walks in five innings of an 8-5 loss. Opponents are batting only .236 against Hand, but he has complicated matters by lack of control (25 walks and 24 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings) and too many gopher balls (eight). The rookie will be making his debut against the Phillies.
ABOUT THE PHILLIES (87-46): Philadelphia completed a four-game sweep over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday and are 41 games over .500 for the first time in 35 years. Ryan Howard is 5-for-22 over his last five games, with four of those hits leaving the park. On the season, Howard has 30 homers and 104 RBIs. Since joining the team in a trade from the Houston Astros, Hunter Pence has hit seven home runs; he currently has an eight-game hitting streak.
ABOUT THE MARLINS (60-76): Emilio Bonifacio continues to make things happen on offense. He's hit safely in nine of 10 games, batting .361 during that span. Greg Dobbs has hit safely in seven of eight games, going 10-for-31 (.322) over that stretch. Burke Badenhop pitched four shutout innings of relief to keep Florida in the game on Thursday. The big righthander has pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, in his last three appearances.
FINAL PITCH: Philadelphia's Joe Blanton will start his minor league rehab on Friday and is expected to pitch one inning. He's been out since the middle of May with a right elbow injury. Veteran hurler Jose Contreras was moved to the 60-day disabled list after undergoing season-ending elbow surgery on Friday.