• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Phillies send Lee to the mound in opener with D-Backs

Apr 25, 2011 - 3:07 PM (Sports Network) - Another day, another quality pitcher the Philadelphia Phillies will send to the mound.

Cliff Lee gets the nod for the Phillies tonight in the opener of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, and looks to extend Philadelphia's winning streak to six games.

The Phillies swept a four-game series in San Diego and posted their 11th straight victory at Petco Park with Sunday's 3-1 triumph over the Padres. Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay tied a career-high with 14 strikeouts and yielded one run on five hits in 8 2/3 innings. Antonio Bastardo recorded the final out of the game for his first save to preserve the win for Halladay, who was pulled after Will Venable hit his 130th pitch into center field for a run-scoring single with two outs in the ninth.

"Nothing surprises me about him," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said about Halladay. "I expect him to pitch good."

Shane Victorino had an inside-the-park home run in the spacious confines of Petco Park, while John Mayberry and Ben Francisco each knocked in a run to lift the Phillies to an MLB-best 15-6 mark this season.

The Phillies have won six in a row on the road and own an 8-2 mark as the visitor this season. Lee will try to make it nine road wins on the season when he takes the hill tonight for his fifth start. Lee did not record a decision in a 4-3 win over Milwaukee last Wednesday, as he yielded three runs -- two earned -- and eight hits in six innings with only one strikeout.

Lee is 1-1 in a pair of road starts this season and 2-0 with a complete game and a 2.57 ERA in two career starts against Arizona.

Arizona was just swept in three games against the New York Mets in Flushing and has dropped four straight and seven of 10 games.

The D'Backs suffered an 8-4 loss in Sunday's series finale at Citi Field, as Armando Galarraga fell for the first time this season (3-1) when he allowed six runs -- two earned -- in only three innings. Stephen Drew provided the offense in defeat, finishing with three hits and two RBI.

"It's frustrating. No one likes to lose," D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "We had our opportunities. We were 2-for-14 with men in scoring position."

Gibson's club will begin a 10-game homestand tonight versus the Phillies, Cubs and Rockies, and will hand the ball to Ian Kennedy for Monday's series opener. Kennedy is 2-1 with a 5.64 ERA in four starts and defeated Cincinnati the previous time out last Wednesday in a 3-1 contest.

Kennedy held the Reds to a run and four hits over 5 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and two walks. The righty faced the Phillies for the first time on April 24 last season and did not record a decision in the 3-2 loss. He threw eight solid innings of two-run ball and struck out four batters.

Philadelphia took four of six matchups from the Diamondbacks last year and has won 11 of the last 15 meetings between the two clubs.