Atlanta @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 21, 2010 ) Atlanta 3, Philadelphia 5
Beating the Philadelphia Phillies this month has nearly impossible. Defeating the trio at the top of their rotation, as the Atlanta Braves are finding out, has been an unachievable task.
Roy Oswalt takes the mound tonight as the Phillies attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the Braves at Citizens Bank Park and extend their season-high winning streak to 10 games.
Entering the series with a three-game lead over Atlanta in the National League East, Philadelphia strategically lined up its rotation so that its top three starters got the chance to help put even more distance between the teams. After two games, the plan has worked flawlessly.
The threesome of Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay are a combined 12-0 thus far in September, a month in which the Phillies have won 17 of 20 games.
Hamels tossed eight stellar innings en route to his fifth consecutive win in Monday's 3-1 triumph and Halladay worked seven solid frames in Tuesday's 5-3 victory to become the Phillies' first 20-game winner since Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in 1982.
Halladay reached the 20-win plateau for the third time in his career with help from Jayson Werth, who opened the scoring with a three-run homer, his 25th of the season. Over his last eight games, Werth has five home runs and 13 RBIs.
Raul Ibanez added a two-run double for Philadelphia, which reduced the magic number for its fourth consecutive NL East title to six. The Phillies lead Atlanta by five games with 10 remaining.
The Braves now get to face Oswalt, who has been nothing short of sensational since being acquired from Houston on July 29. Since losing to Washington in his Phillies debut the day after being obtained, the veteran has gone 7-0 with a 1.56 ERA in nine starts, allowing two runs or less seven times.
In his last outing on Friday, Oswalt gained revenge on the Nationals, allowing one run and six hits in six innings en route to a 9-1 victory.
Oswalt has yet to lose at home as a Phillie, going 5-0 with a 2.18 ERA in five starts. In fact, the right-hander has been perfect throughout his career at Citizens Bank Park, posting a 9-0 record and 2.34 ERA in nine outings.
The Braves, who are 3-2 on their nine-game road trip, still have reason for optimism, however. They are the only NL team other than Houston yet to lose to Oswalt, who is 0-3 with a 7.58 ERA in seven lifetime starts against Atlanta.
Several Braves have enjoyed success vs. the 33-year-old. Alex Gonzalez is 10-for-23 (.435) with two home runs and three RBIs, Nate McLouth is hitting .357 (10-for-28) with two blasts and four RBIs and Derrek Lee has belted three homers and driven in nine runs.
Atlanta, which started a pair of rookies in the first two games of the series, gives the ball to Tommy Hanson in this one. Hanson has won two of his last three decisions, including Friday's 6-4 road triumph over the New York Mets in which he gave up four runs and five hits in six innings.
In four career starts against the Phillies, Hanson is 1-2 with a 3.93 ERA. The 24-year-old right-hander has allowed three runs over 11 1/3 innings in two outings vs. Philadelphia this year, good for a 1-0 record and 2.38 ERA.
Hanson has gone 5-6 with a 3.44 ERA in 15 road starts this season.
Rookie Freddie Freeman belted his first major league home run on Tuesday for Atlanta. The loss, along with San Diego's 6-0 victory over Los Angeles, reduced the Braves' lead over the Padres in the wild-card race to one game.
Philadelphia has won eight in a row at home and 23 of its last 28 against division rivals. The Phillies have posted a 43-15 record since July 21 and outscored their opponents 55-23 during their current winning streak.