Philadelphia Phillies (63-62) At Chicago Cubs (53-72), 8:05 P.m.
(Sports Network) - The resurgent Philadelphia Phillies aim for their fifth consecutive victory tonight as the streaking club plays the third of a four- game series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Phillies were seemingly out of the playoff race at the July 31 non-waiver deadline and traded away a number of key contributors, including star outfielder Bobby Abreu, starting pitcher Cory Lidle and third baseman David Bell. Philadelphia has taken off since making those moves, posting a 14-7 record in August which has vaulted the team back into postseason contention. Philadelphia remained 2 1/2 games back of Cincinnati in the National League wild card standings following Tuesday's 6-3 decision over the Cubs. Jamie Moyer threw six solid innings in his Phillies' debut to earn the win. Moyer, who was acquired from Seattle over the weekend, allowed three runs on six hits in six innings. Pat Burrell drove in a pair of runs to pace Philly's offense. Juan Pierre notched a pair of runs batted in for the Cubs, who have lost three straight games. Henry Blanco finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the losing effort. Rookie left-hander Ryan O'Malley started for Chicago and allowed three runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings. O'Malley (1-1), who tossed eight shutout innings in his major-league debut last week, left the game with a strained left elbow. The Phillies did receive some bad news on Tuesday, however, as the club learned starting center fielder Aaron Rowand will likely miss the remainder of the season with a broken left ankle. Rowand suffered the injury during a nasty collision with second baseman Chase Utley in Monday's game. Utley was also shaken up on the play and was not in the starting lineup on Tuesday. The All-Star did pinch hit, however, and is expected to be ready for tonight's game. In addition, closer Tom Gordon, who hasn't pitched since August 12 because of a strained right shoulder, was placed on the DL this week. The Phillies expect to have him back for the September pennant drive, however. Although Philadelphia has been soaring over the past few weeks, it hasn't received a significant contribution recently from tonight's starter, Brett Myers. The right-hander has allowed four runs or more in each of his last four starts and has amassed a brutal 9.45 earned run average over that span. Myers has managed to win two of those outings because of a wealth of offensive support, but he was on the losing end of his most recent start on Friday. He lasted just 3 1/3 innings against Washington and was lit up for six runs on nine hits while issuing four walks. The 26-year-old has had success at Wrigley Field, allowing just three runs and seven hits over 16 innings in two career starts there. Myers is 3-2 with a 3.03 ERA in five overall starts against the Cubs. Rookie Angel Guzman tries again to nail down his first big-league win when he takes the mound this evening. Guzman is 0-3 with a 6.68 ERA in eight games (five starts) as a Cub this season and was very ineffective in his last start. Guzman was rocked for seven runs and nine hits before exiting after 2 2/3 innings in a loss at Colorado on August 12. He rebounded with a good performance in relief three days later, when he threw three scoreless innings at Houston. The 24-year-old has never previously faced the Phillies. Philadelphia has won six of its last eight encounters with the Cubs, including four of five at Wrigley Field.
Copyright 2006 Courtesy of The Sports Network.





