Florida @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2009 ) Florida 6, Philadelphia 7
Roy Halladay finally gets to show the Philadelphia faithful what the buzz is all about.
The Phillies' prized acquisition of the off-season will make his home debut at Citizens Bank Park when he faces a red-hot Jorge Cantu and the Florida Marlins on Friday night.
After spending 12 years with the Toronto Blue Jays, Halladay (2-0, 0.56 ERA) came to the City of Brotherly Love as the key cog in a three-team, eight-player blockbuster deal in December. The trade effectively sent 2009 postseason stud Cliff Lee to the Pacific Northwest and a number of promising prospects to the Great White North.
For the moment, the 32-year-old right-hander has only given the Phillies' fan base something to read about in the newspapers following a pair of convincing performances on the road.
Halladay followed up a dominating season-opening victory over the Washington Nationals with his 50th career complete game in a 2-1 triumph over the Houston Astros on Sunday. In the latter contest, the 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner allowed just seven hits and struck out eight without issuing a walk for Philadelphia (7-2).
While Halladay has been silencing the opposition, Cantu has been louder than a Metallica concert - well, in their heyday, that is.
The 28-year-old Texan became the first player in major league history to have at least one hit and one RBI in each of his team's first 10 games. Taken a step further, Cantu has gone 14 consecutive contests dating to last year, which is one shy of Mike Piazza's mark.
Cantu extended his streak Thursday by belting an RBI double in the fifth inning of the Marlins' 10-2 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds. Cody Ross, Dan Uggla and Cameron Maybin recorded three hits apiece as Florida (6-4) notched its second victory in a row.
But if we're talking offense, the Phillies' formidable lineup is second to none this season.
Philadelphia leads all of baseball in runs (69), RBIs (66) and slugging percentage (.528). In addition, the Phillies haven't missed a beat in spite of the absence of leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right calf.
In his place atop the lineup is Shane Victorino, who overcame his own early struggles to belt home runs in consecutive contests. Chase Utley is also not shy with the long ball as he homered for the fourth time in the last three games during Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Nationals.
Placido Polanco, another key off-season acquisition, leads the National League with a robust .486 batting average.
The unenviable task of keeping the Phillies' bats at bay belongs to right-hander Anibal Sanchez (0-0, 6.00 ERA), who struggled in his lone appearances this year. The 26-year-old Venezuela native allowed five runs on seven hits in just six innings of work against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.