@

The Florida Marlins (61-54, 4.5 GB NL East, 3 GB WC) look to keep things rolling as they take on the NL wild-card leading Colorado Rockies.  The Marlins continue to play good baseball since the disaster in Washington.  Winning three of four against the Astros, the Marlins are winners of six of their last seven games.  The offense continues to stay red-hot with a club record 10 games in a row with 10 or more hits.  Two of the Marlins hottest bats extended their hitting streaks last night, Chris Coghlan extended his streak to 12, while Hanley Ramirez extended his to 9.

The Colorado Rockies (64-51, 5GB NL West, WC Leaders) head into Land Shark Stadium looking to protect their wild-card lead.  Fresh off a series win against the Pirates, the Rockies hold a 1.5 game lead over the Giants in the wild-card.  The Rockies have done well in the past at Land Shark Stadium, winning eight of their last eleven games.  The Rockies are riding Troy Tulowitzki’s streaky bat, in the past seven days Tulo is 12 for 30 and batting .400, including hitting for the cycle on Monday.

Let’s preview the pitching matchups:

8/14/09, 7:10 PM ET

“Game of the Series”

Jason Hammel, RHP (7-6, 4.66)

Josh Johnson, RHP (11-2, 2.92)

Such an important series, and what better way to get it started with JJ on the mound.  The Fish need to keep winning series, especially from teams ahead of them.  So this will be the game of the series in my opinion.  If the Marlins can win the first game it sets them up nicely for a series win or a possible sweep.  With the bats as hot as they are right now, it would be nice to jump on Hammels early and let JJ do the rest.  Let’s hope its 11 games in a row with 10+ hits.

Rockies: Hammel’s gets the nod tonight for the Rockies.  It hasn’t been easy for Hammel’s lately, in his past seven starts he is sporting a 6.48 ERA and is struggling on keeping his fastball down.  Look for Marlins hitters to square up on some fastballs tonight.

Notable Marlins vs. Hammel:

John Baker – 1-2, HR, RBI, .500

Jorge Cantu – 2-4, 2RBI, .500

Hanley Ramirez – 3-4, HR, 2RBI, .750

Marlins: Ace Josh Johnson takes the mound for the Fish.  JJ went a quality six innings last time out against the Phillies picking up his 11th win.  Last time JJ faced the Rocks he threw eight innings of one run ball to pick up the W.

Notables Rockies vs. Josh Johnson:

Troy Tulowitzski – 2-4, RBI, .500

Brad Hawpe – 2-3, .667

Seth Smith – 2-4, .500

8/15/09, 6:10 PM ET

“No T.V.”

Aaron Cook, RHP (10-4, 3.93)

Rick VandenHurk, RHP (2-1, 4.15)

Rockies:  Cook missed one start due to a hyper-extended big right toe.  Cook is 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA in two starts at Florida.

Marlins: VandenHurk wasn’t very efficient his last time out, but he did earn the win.  VandenHurk made it through five innings of two run ball against the Astros.  After a strong showing by Sean West, VandenHurk will need to pitch well with Anibal Sanchez looming.

8/16/09, 5:05 PM ET

Jorge De La Rosa, LHP (10-8, 4.78)

Chris Volstad, RHP (8-9, 4.71)

Rockies: De La Rosa shut down the Cubs for his 8th win on Monday.  After correcting a few early mistakes, De La Rosa went on to pitch 7 2/3 innings, giving up one run and striking out 11.

Marlins: Volstad will look to put his last start behind him.  The Astros hammered Volstad for six runs over 4 2/3 innings.  Volstad recorded his first career win against the Rockies and has a 4.15 ERA in three career games (two being starts) against them.

@

And the roller coaster continues.  The Washington series sweep was about as low as I have felt all year, but the Marlins came right back with a shocking sweep of the Phillies at Citizens Bank to bring the team back in the hunt for October.  The Marlins (58-53, 4GB NL East, 3GB WC) are back at Land Shark Stadium to host the Astros for the first time this year in a four game series.  The bats showed life in the Philadelphia series, lead by Chris Coghlan who now leads the Marlins in most consecutive multi-hit games with eight.  In the past week, Coghlan has gone 15-29 for an average of .517 followed up by Nick Johnson clogging the base paths behind him and resulting in the increase in runs.

The Houston Astros (55-56, 6GB NL Central, 6GB WC) are still sticking around the standings after a series win over the Brewers on Sunday.  For the Astros, they are looking to finally win at Land Shark Stadium where they have dropped their last five to the Marlins. The offense has been getting great production from Carlos Lee who is 10-24, (.417) this past week.

Let’s take a quick look at the matchups:

8/10/09, 7:10 PM ET

Brian Moehler, RHP (7-7, 5.23)

Rick VandenHurk, RHP (1-1, 4.29)

8/11/09, 7:10 PM ET

“Game of the Series”

The Marlins do get to miss Wandy Rodriguez, but get to face off against Roy Oswalt.  Oswalt has been sharp this year but landed on the disabled list due to lower back pain.  This will be Oswalt’s first game back, and he is 5-4 with a 3.24 ERA in 11 career starts against Florida.  For Volstad he just needs to avoid the home run.  He was giving the big lead in Washington his last time out, but that quickly disappeared due to the long ball.

Roy Oswalt, RHP (6-4, 3.61)

Notable Marlins vs. Oswalt:

Jorge Cantu – 2-5, 2HR, 5RBI’s, .400

Hanley Ramirez – 8-19, 2 2B, 2HR, 3RBI’s, .421

Wes Helms – 7-19, 4 2B, 1HR, 5RBI’s, .368

Jeremy Hermida – 5-12, 2HR, 3RBI’s, .417

Chris Volstad, RHP (8-9, 4.48)

Notable Astros vs. Volstad

Lance Berkman – 0-3, .000

Miguel Tejada – 0-4, .000

8/12/09, 7:10 PM ET

Bud Norris, RHP (2-0, 1.69)

Ricky Nolasco, RHP (8-7, 4.86)

8/13/09, 7:10 PM ET

Mike Hampton, LHP (7-9, 5.30)

Sean West, LHP (3-4, 4.88)

@

Ouch.  A sweep at the hands of the Nationals definitely hurts.  A series that every Marlins fan looked at on the calendar and thought awesome, easy wins to help us out in the wild card and division.  That didn’t happen, but the Marlins need to leave that series behind if they want to have any chance of making the playoffs.  The Phillies have not been kind to the Marlins this year by winning seven of the nine games played, but there is no better way to get back on track than beating the team that’s ahead of you.  The Marlins come into tonight 55-33, 7GB in the NL East, and 5GB in the wild card race.  The Marlins do catch a small break in missing newly acquired Cliff Lee, but do get to square off against their arch-nemesis Jamie Moyer.  Taking two of three from the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park would be a huge accomplishment for the struggling Marlins.

The Phillies sit atop the NL East with a comfortable seven game lead at 61-45.  The Phillies just completed a three game series with the Rockies where they took two of three.  After a slow start to the season, Jimmy Rollins is starting to heat up.  In the past seven days, Rollins is hitting a robust .385 (10 for 26).  The lefty heavy lineup will look to feast on the well-rested Marlins bullpen and add on to their division lead.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups:

8/7/09, 7:35 PM ET

Ricky Nolasco, RHP (7-7, 5.00)

Joe Blanton, RHP (7-5, 4.02)

Marlins: Ricky Nolasco will look to get the club back on track.  Nolasco pitched a dominant seven innings versus the Cubs his last time out.  Nolasco gave up only one run on four hits in the no decision.

Phillies: The “Bulldog” Joe Blanton will take the mound for the Phillies.  Blanton is looking to bounce back after taking the loss his last time out where he gave up two earned runs over seven innings to the Giants.

8/8/09, 7:05 PM ET

Sean West, LHP (3-4, 4.91)

Cole Hamels, LHP (7-6, 4.68)

Marlins: Although it has not been officially announced, it looks like Sean West will be in line to face-off against the Phillies on Saturday.  For West it will be his second stint in the Majors this year after being sent down back on July 11th.  In West’s last three starts for AA Jacksonville, he has thrown 18 innings, giving up 21 hits, seven earned runs, and two walks while striking out 12.

Phillies: Cole Hamels is still looking for consistency this year.  After a string of good starts, Hamels was shellacked for seven runs over five innings.  Before his last outing, Hamels was 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA over three starts.

8/9/09, 1:35 PM ET

“Game of the Series”

Josh Johnson, RHP (10-2, 2.98)

Jamie Moyer, LHP (10-8, 5.55)

Forget about the history.  Everyone else and their mother hit Jamie Moyer except the Marlins.  This needs to change on Sunday when Ace Josh Johnson takes the hill for the Marlins.  The Fish have had much more success against Moyer at Citizens Bank Park and will need to knock him out early.  Just win.

Marlins: Josh Johnson’s last start was bizarre.  After retiring 20 straight Nationals, JJ went into the 8th inning with a 4-0 Marlins lead and continued to load the bases for a Ronnie Belliard bases clearing double.  His streak of 18 games with three earned runs or less has ended with his no decision against Washington.

Notable Phillies vs. Johnson:

Ryan Howard – 7-19, 2B, 2HR, 5RBI, .38

Chase Utley – 5-16, RBI, .313

Jimmy Rollins  – 5-20, 2B, RBI, .250

Phillies: Jamie Freaking Moyer was hit hard against the Rockies his last time out, giving up six earned runs over five innings.

Notable Marlins vs. Moyer:

John Baker – 3-7, 2B, .429

Jorge Cantu – 8-26, 3RBI, 4BB, .308

Wes Helms – 6-13, 2B, 2HR, 5 RBI, .462 (Start me please)

Hanley Ramirez – 12-39, 3B, 4HR, 6RBI, .308

@

The Marlins (55-50, 2nd in NL East 5GB) look to stay hot against the Nationals after coming off one of the most entertaining series of the year versus the Chicago Cubs.  The Marlins know this is a series they should sweep. They have swept the Nationals three times already this year and look to make it a perfect 12-0.  The Marlins took two of three from the Cubs with a thrilling walk-off home run by Co-dy Ross off of former Marlins closer Kevin Gregg.  Newly acquired Nick Johnson will be back in Nationals Park just four days after being traded to the Marlins for pitching prospect Aaron Thompson.  The Fish hope John Baker can continue his hot streak. He comes into this series with a 10 game hitting streak while hitting .353 over the last seven days.  Hanley Ramirez is listed as questionable for the series, but did pinch hit on Sunday.

The Nationals (34-72, 5th in NL East) look to keep improving under new manager Jim Riggleman.  After a dreadful start for Riggleman, the team has picked up its play and have won six of their last ten games.  Since becoming a National, Nyjer Morgan has been one tough out.  In his 29 games for the Nats, he is hitting .379 while stealing 14 bases and looks to add to that total against the Marlins pitching staff which gives up a lot of stolen bases.

Here are the pitching matchups:

8/4/09, 7:05 PM ET

Josh Johnson, RHP (10-2, 2.87)

J.D. Martin, RHP (0-2, 7.50)

Marlins: The Marlins send ace Josh Johnson to the mound to kick off the series.  He looks to keep the streak alive and make it 10 straight wins against the Nationals.  Last time out JJ faced the Braves, he allowed three earned runs over six innings and raised his streak to 18 consecutive games with three earned runs or less.

Nationals: J.D. Martin takes the ball for the Nationals seeking his first win.  In his last start he lasted six innings giving up five earned runs to the Brewers.

8/5/09, 7:05 PM ET

Game of the Series

Rick VandenHurk, RHP (1-0, 2.65)

John Lannan, LHP (7-8, 3.41)

I will go with the second game for the “Game of the Series”.  The Marlins are favored to win the first game of the series with JJ on the mound, but will run into the Nationals best pitcher on Wednesday.  If the Marlins can get VandenHurk some run support and keep the Nationals powerful bats quiet it should be a familiar win.  In two starts against Florida Lannan is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA

Marlins: VandenHurk is coming off of a career-high nine strike out performance against the Braves where he received a no decision.  The right hander ran into trouble in the second inning surrendering a two-run home run to Casey Kotchman, then settled down to pitch a strong six innings.

Nationals vs. RHP:

25-54, 4.4RPG

Notable Nationals vs. VandenHurk:

Ryan Zimmerman – 1-3, 2B, 1RBI, .333

Austin Kearns – 3-3, 1RBI, 1.000

Adam Dunn – 1-3, 2B, .333

Nationals: John Lannan gets the nod for the Nationals.  Lannan took the loss giving up five earned runs over seven innings to the Pirates last time out.

Notable Marlins vs. Lannan

John Baker - 2-4, 2B, HR, 2RBI, .500

Jorge Cantu – 2-5, 2B, HR, 3RBI, .400

Hanley Ramirez – 1-4, 2B, 1RBI, .250

8/6/09, 12:35 PM ET

Chris Volstad, RHP (8-9, 4.35)

Craig Stammen, RHP (3-6, 4.96)

Marlins: Chris Volstad lasted 6 2/3 his last time out versus the Cubs, with the only earned runs coming off a two run blast by Jake Fox.   In two games Volstad is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA against the Nationals.

Nationals: Will give the ball to Craig Stammen.  Stammen could not make it out of the third inning his last time out giving up six earned runs to the Pirates.  In his only start against the Marlins he received a no decision going 5 1/3 innings of three run ball.

@

The Marlins are back at Land Shark Stadium after a very successful West Coast road trip in which they went 5-1.  The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Fish as they host the streaking Atlanta Braves.  Both the Marlins and the Braves come into tonight’s game with identical records at 51-48, seven games back in the NL East, and both teams trail the Rockies by three games in the Wild Card.  The Marlins offense showed signs of life in the Dodger series averaging 5.6 runs per game with a team batting average of .287, and will have to continue to stay hot against a great Atlanta rotation. The Marlins rotation will have to stop two particular Atlanta bats who have wreaked havoc against the Marlins, Chipper Jones (.314 BA, .939 OPS) and Matt Diaz (.414 BA, 1.130 OPS). The Marlins are 6-4 in their last 10, and have chopped down three of the six teams that were ahead of them in the Wild Card race.  With trade rumors swirling around the clubhouse, the Fish must stay focused and keep winning games if they plan on staying buyers with just a few days left till the trade deadline expires.

The Braves are one of the hottest teams in the Majors right now with a 15-8 July record, and they can thank Yunel Escobar for that.  Yunel doesn’t get much attention playing in the short stop studded NL East, but his July numbers are hard to ignore. In 65 at bats, he has a .369 BA, .461 OBP, and a 1.123 OPS.  This will be the last three games of the Braves six game road trip, they come into tonight’s series 2-1 thus far after taking the series in Milwaukee.  The Braves pitching staff has been dominant in July with a National League leading ERA of 3.12.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups for the series.

7/28/09, 7:10 PM ET

Game of the Series

Jair Jurrjens, RHP (9-7, 2.67)

Ricky Nolasco, RHP (7-7, 5.42)

Another game one ” Game of the Series” for me.  After the off day, I’m curious to see if the Marlins intensity stays the same after leaving Dodger Stadium.  Jair Jurrjens is pitching out of his mind right now and the Marlins will need to bring him back down to earth to pull this win off.  It will be ideal if the Marlins can scratch out a few early runs to support Nolasco, but Jurrjens is the type of pitcher you can get to the 2nd time around in the batting order, teams are hitting .206 against Jurrjens the first time through, and .256 the second time through.  If Nolasco can limit any first inning damage and keep the extra base hits down, he should be in for a much needed quality start for the Marlins to have a chance of taking this game.

Braves: Jair Jurrjens gets the nod for Atlanta.  Jair out-pitched Tim Lincecum his last time out. The right hander threw 7 2/3 innings of one run ball while striking out a season high nine batters in the process.  Jurrjens has won four of his last five game and looks to beat the Marlins for the second time in 2009.  He picked up the win back in May against Florida while throwing seven innings and giving up two earned runs.

Notable Marlin vs. Jurrjens

Hanley Ramirez – 4-12, 3HR, 3RBI, 3B, .333

Dan Uggla – 5-11, 2B, 1RBI, .455

Emilio Bonifacio – 3-7, .429

Cody Ross – 2-5, HR, 3 RBI, .400

Marlins vs. RHP

29-34, 4.4 rpg

Marlins: Nolasco takes the mound after a dominant performance in San Diego his last time out.  Ricky limited the Padres to just two hits, no earned runs, while striking out 10.  Ricky had ran into a two game hiccup before facing the lackluster Padre offense, so this outing should be a little more telling as to where he stands.  Atlanta has not been kind to Nolasco in the past, his career numbers are 1-4 with a 5.18 ERA.

Notable Braves vs. Nolasco (yikes)

Brian Mcann – 7-19, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .368

Chipper Jones – 9-16, 3 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, .563

Yunel Escobar – 5-10, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .500

Matt Diaz – 3-8, 2B, .375

Braves vs. RHP

31-33, 3.9 rpg

7/29/09, 7:10 PM ET

Kenshin Kawakami, RHP (5-7, 4.04)

Josh Johnson, RHP (9-2, 2.80)

Braves: Kenshin Kawakami went five innings his last time out, giving up one earned run with three walks and a strike out.  He took the loss in his last game against the Marlins, he pitched six innings while giving up four earned runs.

Marlins: Johnson will look to keep things rolling after limiting the potent Dodgers offense to just three earned runs over seven innings, improving his record to 9-2.  One word comes to mind when talking about Josh Johnson, dependable, he has yet to allow more than three earned runs in 17 straight games.  Johnson looks to make it 18 games in a row on Wednesday, he is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA lifetime against the Braves.

7/30/09, 7:10 PM ET

Javier Vazquez, RHP (8-7, 2.98)

Rick VandenHurk, RHP (1-0, 2.45)

Braves: Javier Vazquez had his first bump in the road in a long time.  Vazquez allowed four earned runs over seven innings in Milwaukee, it was his was his first time giving up three plus runs since June 17th against the Reds.  He is 6-6 with a 4.67 ERA in his career against the Marlins.

Marlins: Rick VandenHurk was equally impressive in his second start of 2009.  VandenHurk limited the Dodgers to just one run over five innings on Saturday, but did not factor in the outcome.  VandenHurk has had some memorable games against the Braves in the past, and is 2-0 with a 4.19 ERA.

@

The West Coast swing continues, and for the Marlins it couldn’t have started any better.  On Tuesday, the Fish completed the three game sweep of the San Diego Padres bringing them back to two games above the .500 mark at 49-47, 6.5 games back in the NL East, and 3.5 games back in the wild card race.  The series sweep provided a much needed confidence boost after getting swept at home by the Phillies, and if the Marlins plan to continue their winning ways, the offense will have to pick it up.  Since the All-Star break the Marlins are averaging 2.7 runs per game including being shut out twice in that six game span. If the Marlins offense does plan to set fire, it will surely be centered around Vin Scully’s favorite Marlin, Hanley Ramirez.  Ramirez loves Dodger Stadium, how much you ask, in his 9 games at Dodger Stadium he has hit .486, with an OBP of .548, and a OPS of 1.385.  The Marlins have shown in the past that they enjoy playing in the spotlight, in front of the huge crowds away from home, and raising their intensity for a big series.

The Dodgers are another team coming off a series sweep.  The Dodgers hosted a three game set versus the Cincinnati Reds and outscored them 25-10 with the help of Manny Ramirez who launched a pinch hit grand slam into Mannywood.  The Dodgers are owners of Major League Baseball’s best record at 61-34, with a 33-15 record at home.  They don’t hold the best record by chance, the Dodgers lead the National League in batting average (.274), on base percentage (.352), ERA (3.57), and BAA (.232).  The Dodgers have Manny Ramirez listed as probable for the series after being hit by a pitch on Tuesday, but following Wednesday’s grand slam it shows that he’s at least healthy enough to pinch hit.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups for the series.  I will now be highlighting what I feel to be “the game” of the series, and  I will go a bit further into detail with some Marlin stats that relate to the game.

7/24/09, 10:10 PM ET

Game of the Series

Josh Johnson, RHP (8-2, 2.74)

Clayton Kershaw, LHP (8-5, 2.95)

This will be the most important game for the Fish in my opinion.  An opening series win against Kershaw will be huge for the teams confidence and send them into games two and three against the Dodgers weaker pitchers.  The Marlins are going to have to start beating good teams in order to make a legitimate run at the wild card, and possibly stay in contention within the division.  The key for the Marlins will be to get Josh Johnson early run support, and to take a patient approach against a Clayton Kershaw who averages 3.1 walks per game.

Marlins:  The Marlins got just two innings out of Josh Johnson due to a rain out against the Phillies.  Johnson has been the Marlins most dependable pitcher all year and the perfect person to kick off the big series.  The big righty has yet to face the Dodgers this year and is 1-1 in three starts with a 7.71 ERA in his career.

Notable Dodgers vs. Johnson

Manny Ramirez- 1 for 2, .500

Russell Martin- 2 for 4, .500

Andre Either- 3 for 7, .429

Dodgers vs. RHP

33-23, 4.9 rpg.

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the Dodgers Friday night in what appears to be a pitchers duel.  Kershaw faced the Marlins earlier in the year going seven innings of one hit ball while allowing just one earned run.  The south paw is 5-0 in his last 7 games with a stellar 0.63 ERA, and has yet to allow more than 3 runs since May 17th.  The one struggle for Kershaw this year has been keeping his walks down. He has walked at least four or more batters in 10 of his 19 games started.  The Marlins are not the most patient team at the plate and will have to take a patient approach in order to be successful against Kershaw.

Notable Marlins vs. Kershaw

Hanley Ramirez- 0 for 3, 0.00

Cody Ross- 1 for 1, 2B, 2BB, 1.000

Dan Uggla- 0 for 2, 0.00

Marlins vs. LHP

21-14, 4.7 rpg

7/24/09, 10:10 PM ET

Rick VandenHurk, RHP (1-0, 3.00)

Hiroki Kuroda, RHP (3-5, 4.73)

Marlins: Rick VandenHurk was impressive in his first start back.  VandenHurk was cruising against the Padres until the 5th inning where he allowed back-to-back solo shots, he would go on to pitch six innings and pick up his first win since June 22nd, 2008.  This will be VandenHurk’s first time facing the Dodgers.

Dodgers: Hiroki Kuroda takes the hill for the Dodgers on Saturday.  Kuroda is looking for his first quality start since June 28th, and during that time frame he has allowed at least three earned runs in each of his games.  If the Marlins can take game one from the Dodgers, Kuroda would be a great pitcher to jump on for a series win.

7/26/09, 4:10 PM ET

Chris Volstad, RHP (7-9, 4.34)

Jason Schmidt, RHP (1-0, 5.40)

Marlins: Volstad was finally able to beat his biggest nemesis on Tuesday, the home run.  Volstad pitched seven strong innings giving up one run on four hits.  It has been an impressive West Coast swing for Volstad, beating the Giants and Padres, but he will need to fight off the home run ball against a power hitting offense in the Dodgers to  remain perfect out west.  Volstad faced the Dodgers in May giving up four earned runs on two home runs.

Dodgers: The Dodgers will hand the ball to Jason Schmidt, yes, that Jason Schmidt.  Schmidt made his first appearance since 2007 last week and, as expected, struggled in his first inning back.  The former All-Star gave up three earned runs all in the first, but settled down to go five innings and pick up the win.  Schmidt no longer throws in 90′s and controls games like he once did, but as the fifth starter the Dodgers are hoping he can hold his own while the offense does the rest.

@

The Marlins come limping into Petco Park for a three game set against the San Diego Padres.  For the Marlins it’s been a tough road back from the All-Star Game after getting swept by the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies sending them a game below the .500 mark (46-47) and seven games back in the standings.  If the Marlins still intend on making the playoffs, they might have to start looking at something they are a bit more familiar with, the wild card race.  The Fish currently sit five games back in the wild card race and can’t afford to lose any more ground at the hands of the last place Padres.  The time is now for the Florida Marlins to decide whether or not they plan on contending with news circulating that the club is very close to becoming sellers rather than buyers in the trade market.  The two-time winner of the Scott Olsen Mugshot Memorial Award, the Marlins offense, will have to start putting runs on the board if they plan on winning anytime soon.

The Padres (37-55) are also looking for ways to win. They are owners of the National Leagues 2nd worst record and just dropped three of four games to the Rockies.  San Diego’s offense has been stuck in a rut for quite some time now, not only did they get no-hit by San Francisco Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez a week ago, they only mustered up 8 runs total in the four games against the Rockies.  The Padres do lead the majors in one category though, the least amount of runs scored per game.  The Friars average a whopping 3.7 runs per game, and can blame some of that on the pitcher-friendly Petco Park where they average 3.5 runs per game.  So the series should come down to which teams offense decides to wake up first, and if you’re a Marlins fan, you’ve got to think that the Marlins need at least two of three from the Padres to stay in contention.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups:

7/20/09, 10:05 PM ET

Rick VandenHurk, RHP (0-0, 0.00) vs. Tim Stauffer, RHP (0-1, 2.57)

Marlins: Welcome back Rick.  The Netherlands pride and joy has made his way back to the majors for the Marlins and will take Sean West spot in the rotation.  VandenHurk has certainly earned his shot to be the fifth starter after posting a 4-1 record with a 2.77 ERA in nine starts for AAA New Orleans since returning from the disabled list on May 30.  The Padres offense should be a nice welcome back for the youngster.

Padres: Tim Stauffer is also getting another shot in the Majors after missing the entire 2008 season with labrum surgery.  This will be Stauffer’s second start back with the Padres. In his last outing he went seven innings and gave up two earned runs in receiving the loss against the Giants.  The right hander features a fastball in low 90′s , and a decent curveball being his out pitch.

7/21/09, 10:05 PM ET

Chris Volstad, RHP (6-9, 4.53) vs. Chad Gaudin, RHP (4-8, 4.84)

Marlins: For Chris the home run woes continue, he has now allowed 20 home runs over his last 19 starts.  The Phillies handed Volstad the loss his last time out backed behind his six innings of four run ball.   The Marlins are hoping Petco Park keeps some of Volstad’s pitches in the park and he can pick up where he left off since last visiting the west coast.

Padres: For the Padres they will send Chad Gaudin to the mound.  Gaudin has had an up and down year for the Padres, he has strung several solid starts together in the past to follow it up with a meltdown.  If Gaudin is going to avoid another meltdown he will need to work on the base on balls, he has allowed four free passes in his last three games.  Gaudin does have the ability to strike out a few batters and the Marlins swing happy offense could provide a nice matchup.

7/22/09, 3:35 PM ET

Ricky Nolasco, RHP (6-7, 5.77) vs. Josh Geer, RHP (1-5, 6.02)

Marlins: Nolasco will look to turn it around after going six innings and surrendering four runs to Phillies.  Nolasco was not all bad in his last start, he struggled out the gate allowing two runs in the first off a Chase Utley home run, but then settled down to retire the next 9 batters.  He was later touched up for two more runs and left the game with a no decision.  Nolasco is a key part for the Marlins success and will need to step up his performances if the Marlins look to contend.

Padres: Josh Geer’s troubles continue, the right hander has allowed eleven earned runs over his last two outings and has yet to make it to the fifth inning.  Like Volstad, Geer has also been bitten by the home run ball, he has allowed 23 home runs this season and leads the National League in that department.

at

Fresh off the All-Star break the Marlins get right back to business in a big series against the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies (48-38).  The Marlins (46-44) sit four games back from first place and can make up some serious ground right away.  The Marlins have struggled thus far versus the Phillies going 2-4 on the season, with the Phillies getting a series sweep back in May at Philadelphia. The four game set will kick off at Land Shark Stadium and both teams will have a bit of a different look since last seeing each other. As of today the Phillies have added Pedro Martinez to the roster and then proceeded to place him on the disabled list with a mild shoulder strain. For the Marlins, they have added some bullpen depth calling up Luis Ayala from AAA, and signing veteran free agent Brendan Donnelly. If the Marlins plan on catching the Phillies atop the NL East they will need strong performances from the starting rotation. With that, let’s preview the upcoming pitching matchups.

7/16/09, 7:10 PM ET

Jamie Moyer, LHP (8-6, 5.99) vs. Chris Volstad, RHP (6-8, 4.44)

The Phillies will send the Marlin killer to mound in Jamie Moyer. Moyer has gone an incredible 12-2 with a 3.06 ERA in his career against the Marlins, but is 1-1 on the year against the Fish going 6 innings and surrendering four earned runs in the losing performance back on May 25^th.

The Marlins will counter with Chris Volstad who is fresh off the best performance of his career. Volstad managed to shut down the Giants Wednesday by throwing his first complete game shutout while striking out six and allowing no free passes. Volstad will need to be just as sharp this time around  against a much stronger Phillies lineup.

7/17/09, 7:10 PM ET

Cole Hamels, LHP (5-5, 4.87) vs. Ricky Nolasco, RHP (6-7, 5.76)

The Phillies hope that the All-Star break was kind to Cole Hamels who has been rocky this year after a stellar 2008 season. The southpaw was in line for the loss giving up five earned runs against the Pirates last time out, but ended up receiving a no decision due to a huge 9^th inning rally by the Phillies.

The Marlins are hoping Ricky Nolasco forgot about his last outing in Arizona where he was tagged for seven earned runs while striking out eight and walking one receiving his first loss since June 7^th. Before the loss Nolasco was riding a four game winning streak while posting a 0.96 ERA.

7/18/09, 7:10 PM ET

Joe Blanton, RHP (6-4, 4.44) vs. Josh Johnson, RHP (8-2, 2.74)

Blanton looks to make it three straight wins in a row on Saturday with a win against the Fish. Blanton has been exceptional this year for the Phillies with seven of his ten quality starts coming in his last nine games. In his last outing versus the Pirates he surrendered just one run over 7 1/3 innings.

The Marlins Ace, Josh Johnson, will look to Halt Blanton’s chances at a three game streak by continuing his dominance on the mound. Johnson looks to pick up right where he left off in Arizona where he picked up a win going 6 2/3 allowing just one run. The All-Star has faced the Phillies once this year receiving a no decision while allowing no runs over 7 innings, and is 3-1 lifetime against the Phillies with a 3.66 ERA.

7/19/09, 1:10 PM ET

J.A. Happ, LHP (6-0, 2.90) vs. Andrew Miller, LHP (3-4, 4.50)

The Phillies wish they could send Happ to the mound every day with the way that he has been performing. Happ has yet to experience a loss this year and is currently on a streak of five quality starts in a row. A dominating effort his last time out against the Pirates, he went 7 innings  giving up a run. This will be Happ’s first career start against the Marlins.

Miller is another Marlins pitcher who would like to forget about his last outing in Arizona. Miller lasted just 2 2/3 innings and was battered for six runs, two being earned. The tall left hander looks to turn his career numbers around against the Phillies, he is 0-2 lifetime with a 4.05 ERA.