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Phillies-Padres Preview

Aug 29, 2010 - 1:40 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Philadelphia (71-57) at San Diego (76-51), 4:05 p.m. EDT

Superb pitching is compensating for the Philadelphia Phillies' offensive shortcomings. They'll likely need another strong effort on the mound with their struggling lineup slated to face red-hot Clayton Richard.

Cole Hamels could use some help from his offense if the Phillies are to complete a three-game sweep of the NL-leading San Diego Padres on Sunday.

The Phillies (72-57) lead the NL wild-card race and are second in the East, trying to close in on Atlanta. However, they're batting .199 during a 4-6 stretch, scoring three runs or fewer nine times.

That lack of offense has been offset by strong pitching in the first two games of this series. The Phillies have held the Padres (76-52) to three runs and 13 hits in two games after Philadelphia was outscored 15-7 while getting swept in four straight at home by Houston.

Joe Blanton provided the latest strong effort on the mound Saturday for Philadelphia, yielding one run in six innings before three relievers combined for three perfect innings to cap a 3-1 victory.

The Phillies have won six straight and 10 of 11 at Petco Park. They are 17-4 at the downtown ballpark since it opened in 2004.

"It's baseball," said center fielder Shane Victorino, who two RBIs and two of Philadelphia's three hits Saturday. "We're not going to look at it any differently. It's about winning. It's that time to start grinding away. We definitely came off a frustrating four games at home to come to a place like this and play the No. 1 team in the league. It says a lot about us. We've got to find ourselves and keep plugging along."

Generating offense could be an issue again Sunday when the Phillies face Richard (12-5, 3.55 ERA) for the first time.

The left-hander is 5-0 with a 3.48 ERA in his last six starts, and has won three in a row behind a 1.45 ERA.

He was impressive again Tuesday, allowing three hits over six innings with eight strikeouts and five walks in a 5-0 win over Arizona.

"He worked his way out of a couple of jams. He's got the arm, he's got the makeup, he's got the aptitude to be a successful pitcher," manager Bud Black said.

San Diego is trying to avoid its first four-game slide since Aug. 13-16 of last year. The club has had its own offensive problems all season with a .250 batting average that ranks near the bottom of the NL.

Hamels (7-10, 3.47) is all too familiar with his team's offensive struggles. The left-hander has pitched to a 3.16 ERA while striking out 85 over 79 2-3 innings in his last 12 starts but is only 1-5 during that span.

He is 0-3 with a 2.83 ERA in eight starts since a 1-0 victory over Cincinnati on July 11. The Phillies have supported him with nine total runs in those games, including a streak of 25 2-3 scoreless innings over his previous three outings.

That streak came to a halt Tuesday, as Hamels allowed two runs over seven innings of a 4-2, 16-inning loss to Houston.

He's 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in eight starts against the Padres, going 1-1 with a 2.18 ERA in three at Petco Park.