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Orioles-Phillies Preview

Jun 19, 2009 - 4:43 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Baltimore (28-37) at Philadelphia (36-27), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The Philadelphia Phillies may be tired of explaining their struggles at home, but it's hard to ignore the defending World Series champs' poor play in their own yard.

Philadelphia looks to snap a three-game slide at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night when it hosts a Baltimore Orioles club looking to win its fourth straight interleague series.

The NL East-leading Phillies (36-28), who have lost five of six, open the final leg of their nine-game homestand after getting swept by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Philadelphia is a major league-best 23-9 on the road but just 13-19 at home.

"I'm tired of hearing about it. I'm done talking about losing at home," Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard said following Thursday's 8-7 loss.

The Phillies matched a season high with four home runs despite putting Raul Ibanez, who has team highs of 22 homers and 59 RBIs, on the disabled list with a strained groin. John Mayberry Jr. - Ibanez's replacement on the roster - Jayson Werth, Greg Dobbs and Jimmy Rollins all hit the ball out of the park.

After going hitless in his first 14 at-bats of the homestand, Rollins is batting .429 (6 for 14) with two homers and four RBIs to raise his average at home to .206.

Third baseman Pedro Feliz's eighth-inning error Thursday led to two runs. The Phillies have committed seven of their NL-low 26 errors in the last five games.

"We've had some mental mistakes over the last couple days," Howard said. "You just can't have that."

Philadelphia tied a season-high with three errors in Antonio Bastardo's previous appearance, which lasted just one inning. Making his home debut, Bastardo (2-1, 5.25 ERA) walked three and allowed five runs as the Phillies lost to Boston 11-6 on Saturday. Bastardo did not return following a one-hour, 35-minute rain delay before the second inning.

"Being a young guy, I've never been through this before, so they made the decision for me," the 23-year-old rookie said through a translator. "But I would've loved to stay out there and give the bullpen a much-needed rest."

An extended outing by Bastardo would be welcomed by the bullpen, which is 1-3 with a 6.11 ERA on the homestand.

Baltimore (29-37) won its third straight interleague series Thursday when it scored one in the eighth inning and two in the ninth to defeat the New York Mets 5-4. Aubrey Huff's game-winning single off closer Francisco Rodriguez gave the Orioles their first victory in 35 games this season when trailing after eight innings.

"I just tried to stay as calm as possible after that," Huff said of lining out with the bases loaded in the fifth. "To come up there in that situation again, to deliver was really nice."

Baltimore is 6-3 in interleague play with series wins over Washington, Atlanta and New York. The Orioles, though, have dropped five straight away from Camden Yards and are an AL-worst 8-20 on the road.

Rich Hill (2-1, 5.81) takes the mound as Baltimore opens a six-game trip. The left-hander had a no-decision after allowing four runs in four innings of Saturday's 8-4 win over Atlanta.

Hill is 0-2 with a 5.74 ERA in three career starts against the Phillies.

Rookie catcher Matt Wieters, who started the ninth-inning rally with a leadoff double, batted .385 (10 for 26) on the homestand to raise his average to .240.

Philadelphia won two of three in Baltimore's only visit to Citizens Bank Park in 2004.