Series Preview: Marlins @ Phillies 4/16-4/18

This weekend, the second place Marlins make their first visit of the season to Philadelphia for a three-game series. Highlights of the weekend include Roy Halladay's first start at Citizens Bank Park on Friday and the presentation of 2009 Gold Glove Awards to Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco on Saturday. Read on for details on the pitching matchups and other key notes for this series.

Friday, 7:05pm. Anibal Sanchez (0-0, 6.00 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (2-0, 0.56 ERA). Sanchez is 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA in 7 career starts against the Phillies. Last season, Sanchez was 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA in 2 starts against Philadelphia. Ryan Howard is 5-for-14 (.357 avg.) with 2 doubles, 2 homers and 5 walks against Sanchez. Jayson Werth is 1-for-10 (.100 avg) with 7 strike outs against Sanchez in his career. The reigning NL player of the week, Halladay, has made 2 starts against the Marlins in his career...in those games he has a 0-1 record and a 5.00 ERA. No active Marlin has homered off of Halladay.

Saturday, 7:05pm. Ricky Nolasco (0-0, 5.68 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (1-0, 7.50 ERA). In 11 career games against the Phillies, Nolasco has a 5-3 record with a 4.23 ERA. In 5 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Nolasco is 4-1 with a 3.06 ERA and a .200 batting average against. Carlos Ruiz is just 1-for-11 (.091 avg) against Nolasco in his career. Moyer, the active ML leader in wins, has a 13-4 record with a 2.93 ERA in 17 career starts against Florida. Moyer made 5 starts against the Marlins last season and in those games his record was 2-3 and his ERA was 2.90. In 16 homes games last year, Moyer's ERA was 6.00. Wes Helms is 7-for-19 (.368 avg) with a double, 2 homers and 6 RBI against Moyer.

Sunday, 1:35pm. Nate Robertson (1-0, 3.60 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (2-0, 5.06 ERA). In 6 April appearances last year with the Tigers, Robertson's ERA was 9.00. Raul Ibanez is 7-for-29 (.241 avg) with a double and 2 RBI against Robertson. In his career against the Marlins, Hamels has a 2-6 record with a 4.48 ERA in 12 starts. Hamels' career home numbers are 28-17 with a 3.47 ERA and a .232 batting average against, in 57 regular season starts. Chris Coghlan is 6-for-9 (.667 avg) with 2 doubles, 2 homers and 4 RBI against Hamels.

Chris Coghlan is 25-for-57 (.439 avg) with 12 runs scored in 15 games against the Phillies.

Marlins slugger Jorge Cantu has a record of 10 games with a hit and an RBI to open a season. The previous record was 8, set in 1921 by George Kelly of the Giants.

In 47 career games against the Marlins, Ryan Madson has a 3-2 record, with 1 blown save and a 2.94 ERA.

Jayson Werth is a .215 career hitter in 56 games against the Marlins. Werth batted .185 in 18 games against the Marlins last season.

In 80 career games against the Marlins, Ryan Howard is a .319 hitter with a 1.103 OPS. Howard batted .382 in 17 games against the Marlins last season.

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