San Diego @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 4, 2010 ) San Diego 2, Philadelphia 3
When Jon Garland signed a one-year contract in January to remain in the Golden State, the collective baseball world simply shrugged its shoulders with mild interest.
Five months later, Garland is well within his right to give the rest of the world the cold shoulder.
The 30-year-old right-hander will look to help the San Diego Padres (32-22) rebound on Saturday when they face the Philadelphia Phillies (29-24) in the second of a four-game set at Citizens Bank Park.
On Friday, Jayson Werth walked with the bases loaded to snap a tie in the fifth and Roy Halladay pitched seven solid innings as the Phillies ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 triumph.
Shane Victorino belted a two-run homer for Philadelphia, which won for just the third time in its last 12 games.
While the Phillies are struggling, Garland (6-2, 2.15 ERA) is not.
The hurler, who has not tasted defeat since April 11, may have finally found a home with the Padres. After spending eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Garland shuffled from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks over the last two campaigns.
Now with the Padres, the veteran hurler sports one of the top six ERAs in the National League and has recorded a quality start in seven of his last eight outings.
In his last start, Garland overcame a pair of solo homers by Ryan Zimmerman to pitch seven strong innings en route to a no-decision against the Washington Nationals.
The 10th overall pick of the 1997 draft, Garland has struggled in four career starts against Philadelphia - posting an 0-3 mark with a mountainous 8.02 ERA.
The Phillies will counter with 47-year-old southpaw Jamie Moyer (5-5, 4.26 ERA), who fell victim to a hard-luck loss in his last outing.
Moyer permitted just one run and four hits in six innings - but the Phillies' feeble offense failed to score in a 1-0 loss to the Florida Marlins.
For his benefit, Moyer should be very careful pitching to Adrian Gonzalez. The slugger is 5-for-15 with three home runs against the veteran hurler.
Moyer will once again vie for his 100th career victory after turning 40. Should he be victorious, he would join Phil Niekro and Jack Quinn on that exclusive list.