• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Diamondbacks-Phillies Preview

Jul 28, 2010 - 10:23 PM By SAMANTHA PANITCH STATS Writer

Arizona (37-63) at Philadelphia (54-46), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The Philadelphia Phillies are making a push for first place in the NL East and will look to their ace to keep the momentum going.

Roy Halladay will try to extend the Phillies' season-high winning streak to seven when he takes the ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.

Halladay (11-8, 2.28 ERA) won for the first time since July 5 when he struck out nine in eight innings in a 6-0 win over Colorado on Friday. It was only the second time in his past 14 starts he received more than three runs of support.

"I did a good job of mixing pitches. I threw a lot of everything," Halladay said after pitching his seventh game in which he did not allow an earned run. "I didn't pitch exactly where I wanted, but I think I did a really good job of keeping them off balance."

Halladay is 3-0 in his last four starts at home while allowing one run in 33 innings - none in the last 25. The right-hander hasn't faced the Diamondbacks (37-63) since 2004, but he is 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two career starts against them.

The Phillies (54-46) will try to give Halladay adequate run support by building off a 13-hit performance in a 9-5 win over Arizona on Tuesday.

Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Cody Ransom all hit two-run homers as Philadelphia posted a season-best sixth straight win. The Phillies are batting .313 with 25 extra-base hits in that span.

Howard has been Philadelphia's most consistent hitter in a lineup that has been plagued by injuries. The star first baseman is batting .348 with five homers and 13 RBIs in 12 games since the All-Star break.

"We've had so many injuries, but we have to continue to go," said Howard, the NL leader with 81 RBIs.

One of those injuries came Tuesday night, when center fielder Shane Victorino left in the seventh inning with an abdominal strain. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday and the Phillies called up Domonic Brown, their top prospect, from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Brown batted .327 with 20 homers and 68 RBIs in 93 games at Double-A Reading and Lehigh Valley.

The Phillies also played without Jimmy Rollins (bruised foot), and they continue to play without Chase Utley - out since June 29 after having thumb surgery.

Despite their growing list of injuries, the two-time NL champion Phillies moved within 3 1/2 games of East-leading Atlanta, cutting the deficit in half over the last five days. They've also won nine in a row at home, their longest streak since winning 16 straight at Veterans Stadium in 1991.

Edwin Jackson (6-9, 5.01) will try to cool off the surging Phillies.

Jackson lost a third straight start Friday, giving up six runs - four earned - in six innings of a 7-4 defeat to San Francisco. He had two throwing errors to first base that led to three runs.

The right-hander has a 6.85 ERA in four starts since throwing a no-hitter at Tampa Bay on June 25.

Jackson has served up three home runs in his last two starts after going eight straight without allowing one. The Phillies have hit at least one homer in five of their last six games.

Jackson is facing Philadelphia for the first time as he tries to help Arizona avoid a sixth consecutive loss.