Florida @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 6, 2011 ) Philadelphia 6, Florida 7
THE STORY: Hurricane Irene forced the Florida Marlins to evacuate early. The Marlins probably wished their destination wasn’t the home of the best team in baseball. After an unexpected day off, Florida opens an eight-game road trip on Friday against the major league-leading Philadelphia Phillies, who are looking to avoid collecting consecutive losses for the first time in nearly a month. The Phillies, who are a major league-best 46-21 at home, have won nine of the 12 meetings between the National League East rivals this season.
TV: 7:05 pm. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), Fox Sports (Florida)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Roy Oswalt (6-7, 3.51 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Clay Hensley (1-5, 5.47 ERA).
Oswalt is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts since returning from the disabled list. The veteran righthander, who missed six weeks with lower back inflammation, struck out nine in eight scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals on Saturday. Oswalt registered his most strikeouts since a postseason outing last October against the San Francisco Giants. He is 6-4 with a 3.72 ERA in 15 starts versus Florida.
Hensley, who began the season in the bullpen, has pitched six innings just once in seven post-All-Star break starts. The righthander is 0-2 with a 9.88 ERA in his last four starts. Hensley is 1-0 with a 3.78 ERA in four appearances - one start - against Philadelphia.
ABOUT THE PHILLIES (83-45): Winners of 18 of their last 24, the Phillies are looking to avoid losing two straight for the first time since July 27-28. Philadelphia missed shortstop Jimmy Rollins on Wednesday. His replacement, Michael Martinez committed an error that led to four first-inning runs in a loss to the New York Mets. Rollins was placed on the disabled list on Monday with a strained groin. Martinez’s gaffe was atypical of the Phillies, who have committed the fewest errors in baseball (55). Raul Ibanez (groin) missed a third straight game Wednesday, but received an anti-inflammatory shot and could return this weekend. Ibanez may be eager to return because John Mayberry Jr. has been threatening to take over the full-time left field duties. The 27-year-old is hitting .299 (29-for-97) with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 33 games since being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
ABOUT THE MARLINS (58-72): With Irene bearing down on South Florida, the Marlins hastily scheduled - and split - a doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. The 6-5 win in the opener snapped a six-game skid. Logan Morrison belted his 18th homer of the season in the first game after returning from a brief demotion. Morrison, who often expresses himself candidly on the social media site Twitter, felt he was sent to the minors due to an “off the field” issue. Three-time All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez may begin a rehab assignment this weekend. Ramirez has been on the disabled list since Aug. 3 with a sprained left shoulder.
FINAL PITCH: The teams will play a day-night doubleheader on Saturday, rather than play the series finale on Sunday. The starts for the games are 1:05 and 7:05 p.m.