Phillies 3 - 13 Diamondbacks
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Aug 10, 2015 - 3:47 AM Following a brief lull, the Philadelphia Phillies got back to their torrid pace since the All-Star break in their first series to a nine-game trip.

The Phillies will try to keep rolling by continuing their recent dominance over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.

Philadelphia (45-67) had dropped three of four before bouncing back with a three-game sweep of San Diego this weekend. A 5-3 win Sunday moved the Phillies to an MLB-best 16-5 since the break and was their seventh victory in eight road games.

"I think guys are playing with confidence at this point. I think the more games under your belt, the more plate appearances, the more time on the mound, the more confidence you can build," second baseman Chase Utley told MLB's official website. "So, obviously a 100-some odd games into the season you can see that confidence coming out of a lot of the guys."

Philadelphia will next face a team it's beaten in seven of the last eight meetings, including a three-game home sweep May 15-17. The Diamondbacks, though, will send out one of their most effective starters of late in Rubby De La Rosa (9-5, 4.56 ERA).

The right-hander, 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in his last four outings, gave up two runs and two hits in five innings Wednesday in an 11-4 win in Washington.

De La Rosa has allowed one run in 15 innings in his past two home games and will face Philadelphia for the first time since June 7, 2011, as a rookie for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He'll be opposed by Aaron Harang (5-12, 4.11), who will make his third start since coming back from plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The veteran right-hander ended a career-worst eight-start losing streak in his return, a 4-1 win over Atlanta on July 30, but allowed four runs in five innings in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

Harang earned just his second win in his past 16 starts against Arizona in his most recent matchup July 5, 2014, and had lost nine of previous 10 decisions despite logging a respectable 3.58 ERA.

Arizona (54-56) has alternated wins and losses in its last eight games, but its 4-3 victory in 10 innings Sunday against Cincinnati was its fourth in five home contests.

Chris Owings, who had the winning single, is batting .500 in five games against Philadelphia, and Aaron Hill is hitting .381 in his last 12 in the series. Paul Goldschmidt, meanwhile, has a .149 average in 21 matchups since 2012, his lowest versus any NL team in that span.

Goldschmidt went 3 for 4 with two doubles Sunday after going 3 for 27 in his first eight games this month. He's 6 for 15 with two homers and two doubles lifetime against Harang.

"Good to get a few hits today and that's just how baseball is, sometimes you have some bad days or weeks or months or years or whatever," Goldschmidt said. "It just kind of comes and goes so I just go out there and try to do the best I can."

Philadelphia's Carlos Ruiz is batting .100 in his last 12 games but is hitting .435 in last 25 against Arizona. Utley is batting .417 with four doubles in his past seven meetings.

Odubel Herrera, batting .377 in a 12-game hit streak, went 2 for 12 versus Arizona in May.






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