• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Padres-Phillies Preview

Jun 3, 2010 - 7:43 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

San Diego (32-21) at Philadelphia (28-24), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Roy Halladay threw a perfect game in his last outing. The Philadelphia Phillies have needed that kind of pitching effort to get a win of late.

With Halladay taking the mound for the first time since his historic effort, the slumping Phillies look to get back on track when they host the NL West-leading San Diego Padres on Friday night.

The Phillies' powerful lineup rolled along for the first 41 games, averaging 5.5 runs, but the club has struggled badly at the plate since. Philadelphia (28-24) has scored 14 runs while losing nine of the last 11.

The Phillies, who have fallen into second place in the NL East, have been shut out five times during that span. They were held without a run seven times in 2009.

"I see a whole lot of cockiness and big-headedness and complacency," manager Charlie Manuel said of his two-time defending NL champions. "Just because we did something last year doesn't mean we're going to do it this year."

The Phillies' 3-4-5 hitters have been at the heart of the team's offensive problems. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth have totaled five RBIs in the last 11 games, with Werth's .152 average since May 22 the best between the three during that stretch.

"There are a lot of ways you can spin it, but we've been through this before," Utley told the Phillies' official website. "We're going to come out of it. We've just got to keep working."

That's never been a problem for Halladay. Less than 12 hours after throwing the 20th perfect game in major league history in a 1-0 win at Florida on Saturday, the former Cy Young winner was back at the ballpark getting ready for his next start.

While Halladay (7-3, 1.99 ERA) was untouchable in his last outing, that wasn't the case in his last two games at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed 17 hits and posted a 4.91 ERA in losing both starts.

The Padres are the only NL team Halladay has never faced, and he'll be taking on a club that has won eight of 11 - occasionally in dramatic fashion. San Diego (32-21) opens a seven-game trip after posting three extra-inning, walk-off wins during a 6-3 homestand.

"We just want to keep plugging away," center fielder Tony Gwynn told the Padres' official website Wednesday after Adrian Gonzalez hit a walk-off grand slam in a 5-1, 11-inning victory over the New York Mets. "We're doing a fantastic job with our pitching and our timely hitting, and we're playing good defense. When you have those three as a recipe, it's usually going to lead to some victories."

Mat Latos (5-3, 3.08) gets the ball in the series opener, looking to win his career-best fifth straight decision. The 22-year-old right-hander has given up two runs or fewer in each of his last six starts.

Latos has never faced the Phillies.

Gonzalez hit .316 with four homers and six RBIs versus Philadelphia last year, but San Diego dropped five of seven in season series.

Padres second baseman David Eckstein is 11 for 27 (.407) with a homer against Halladay.