Philadelphia @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 13, 2014 ) Miami 3, Philadelphia 4

The Philadelphia Phillies certainly catch a break by not having to face Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, although his replacement enjoyed a pretty impressive debut last week. Anthony DeSclafini hopes to build off his first major-league outing Tuesday, when he faces the visiting Phillies in the opener of their three-game series. The 24-year-old will be making his first home start in place of Fernandez, who is out for the season with an elbow injury.

Philadelphia's A.J. Burnett gets the nod against one of his former teams. He will try to pitch the Phillies to their third straight win - a feat they have not accomplished since April 20-22. Philadelphia is coming off a series victory against Cincinnati, while Miami split its four-game set with San Francisco over the weekend.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), FSN Florida (Miami)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH A.J. Burnett (2-3, 3.13 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Anthony DeSclafini (1-0, 3.00)

Burnett has thrown at least 90 pitches in all nine of his starts but only has surpassed six innings on three occasions - none this month. His last outing was a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in which he gave up three runs in five frames while allowing seven hits and five walks. Left-handed hitters are batting .310 against Burnett this season, but he has held righties to a .207 average.

DeSclafini was strong through six innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, allowing two runs and seven hits after coming up from Double-A. The native of Freehold, New Jersey - located about an hour from Philadelphia - struck out seven and walked one while throwing 93 pitches, including first-pitch strikes to 20 of the 26 hitters he faced. "It still hasn't hit me. I can't believe I was facing the Dodger lineup, going from Jacksonville to the big leagues," he said afterward. "I wasn't expecting a call-up. I was just trying to control my nerves. It was cool to throw the way I did, get a win and get the Marlins a win."

WALK-OFFS

1. Burnett has only faced the Marlins three times, posting a 1-1 record and a 1.96 ERA in 18 1/3 innings.

2. Marlins 2B Derek Dietrich is the only current Miami player with a home run against Burnett - and it came in his only career at-bat versus the 15-year veteran.

3. Philadelphia 3B Cody Asche was 7-for-12 with six RBIs in the series against Cincinnati.

PREDICTION: Marlins 7, Phillies 4