San Diego @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 23, 2009 ) San Diego 4, Philadelphia 9
Perhaps the Philadelphia Phillies will send the city's hockey brethren a well-written "thank you" card.
Then again, maybe a cheesesteak or two from either Pat's or Geno's would be more appropriate.
After all, while the Philadelphia Flyers have captured the attention of the masses as they skated their way to the Stanley Cup Finals, the floundering Phillies have been nowhere to be found.
Now after a rather forgettable 2-7 road trip - save for Roy Halladay's perfect game - the Fightin' Phils are stumbling home with as much coordination as a college coed several hours after closing time.
During its travels, Philadelphia was blanked four times in five games and is averaging a Victoria Beckham-thin 1.3 runs per contest. For their efforts - or lack thereof - the Phillies (28-24) saw their 4 1/2-game lead in the National League East turn into a season-high 2 1/2-game deficit behind the Atlanta Braves.
Philadelphia will send Halladay to the hill tonight in the opener of a three-game set against the NL-leading San Diego Padres (32-21).
Halladay (7-3, 1.99 ERA) rebounded from his worst start of the season by gutting the Florida Marlins last Saturday en route to pitching the 20th perfect game in major league history.
The prize acquisition of an offseason three-team trade, Halladay struck out a season-high 11 batters on his way to a 1-0 victory. Whether desperate for attention, cash or both, the Marlins have begun reselling tickets to Halladay's virtuoso performance.
As for the Phillies' offense, however, other adjectives come to mind - such as weak or anemic. How else would one describe a team that has scored 14 runs in its last 11 games?
The team's Nos. 3-5 hitters (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth) are 29-for-149 (.195) with just four home runs since May 18.
Hoping to keep them under wraps is promising Padres pitcher Mat Latos (5-3, 3.08 ERA), who has recorded six consecutive quality starts. In his last outing, Latos allowed two runs and four hits over six innings in a 4-2 victory against the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
The 22-year-old right-hander has never faced the Phillies, let alone pitched at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park.
Pacing the Padres offensively is Adrian Gonzalez, who belted a walk-off grand slam in a 5-1 victory over the New York Mets in 11 innings on Wednesday. Gonzalez also teed off against the Phillies last year, belting four home runs to go along with a .316 batting average.
San Diego, which has won eight of its last 11 games, has enjoyed its time away from Petco Park. The Padres are 14-9 on the road, including 10-3 in their last 13 games.