Florida @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 4, 2011 ) Philadelphia 4, Florida 5
THE STORY: After clinching a postseason berth on Wednesday, the Philadelphia Phillies will turn their attention to bigger fish on their plate. No, we're not specifically talking about the lowly Florida Marlins, who coincidentally will visit the Phillies in a makeup doubleheader Thursday. Rather, Philadelphia has a magic number of four to secure its fifth consecutive National League East title. Righthander Kyle Kendrick will start Game 1 and southpaw Cliff Lee will take the nightcap for the Phillies, who snapped a three-game skid with a 1-0 triumph over the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Righthanders Anibal Sanchez and Alex Sanabia will provide the opposition for the Marlins. The doubleheader is being played to make up the twin bill that was postponed by Hurricane Irene on Aug. 27.
TV: 2:35 p.m., ET, FSFL (Florida), WPHL (Philadelphia)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Anibal Sanchez (8-7, 3.64 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (7-6, 3.29 ERA).
Sanchez collected his second one-hitter of the season and tied his career high with 11 strikeouts in a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. The 27-year-old Venezuelan also threw a one-hitter against Colorado on April 22. Sanchez has struggled against the Phillies, losing seven of 10 career decisions - although he settled for four no-decisions against the NL East rival this season.
Kendrick filled in for Cole Hamels in his last start and saw his modest two-game winning streak come to an end. The 27-year-old Houston native yielded six runs - two earned - in four innings in a 7-4 loss to the New York Mets. Kendrick has fared well against the Marlins, posting a 6-2 career mark, with two of those wins coming this season.
ABOUT THE MARLINS (67-81): Former Phillie Greg Dobbs homered in the second inning, but that was all the Marlins could muster in a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon. Florida's offense was so anemic that it didn't register a hit after the third inning or a runner after the fifth. Second baseman Omar Infante did his part by hitting safely for the 30th time in 36 games. Infante is 5-for-15 in his career versus Kendrick. Veteran outfielder Mike Cameron was involved in a verbal altercation with a flight attendant on Sunday, according to a report in the Miami Herald. Cameron, 38, was officially released by the Marlins the following day for conduct detrimental to the team.
ABOUT THE PHILLIES (95-51): So, Charlie Manuel's club clinches its fifth straight postseason appearance and how does it celebrate? With handshakes, not champagne. While the postgame party was downright tame, Roy Halladay did his best to liven up the actual contest on Wednesday. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner tossed his eighth complete game of the season to make Placido Polanco's RBI single in the first inning stand up in the 1-0 triumph. Polanco will look to continue his good fortune against Sanchez, against whom he is 7-for-15 with a pair of homers in his career. Slugger Ryan Howard went 0-for-11 in the three-game series vs. Houston, but is 9-for-28 (.321) in his career against Sanchez.
FINAL PITCH: "That’s the beauty of being here. We expect to win. You convert to that quickly, coming from a team where that wasn’t the case. We had some big wins last year and come into the clubhouse and that’s where we expected to be." – Halladay, on his team's not-so-wild celebration after clinching a postseason berth.