Phils-Marlins: Game 3 Preview

When the smoke cleared Tuesday, the Marlins had tripped the Phils, whose lead in the NL East had slipped to 2 games over Florida after the 2-1 loss.

The deciding game 3 of the series is tonight at 7:10 ET and features a pitching matchup that, on paper, favors Florida:

PHI: Lee (2-3, 3.69 ERA, 60 S.O., 7 BB)

FLA: Nolasco (3-0, 3.23 ERA, 38 S.O., 7 BB)

Nolasco is 5-1 with a 2.92 ERA in his last 7 games vs. the Phils, with a .210 BAA (Batting Average Against).

Lee improbably S.O. a career-high 16 in his last 7 inning outing on May 6th, but allowed 9 hits and recorded a 1.43 WHIP on the day. Nolasco similarly S.O. 11 in 7 innings on May 6th and has a 1.08 WHIP thus-far in '11. Winner takes the 3 game series, currently split at 1-1.

Game 2: Tuesday Recap

Florida baseball fans are notoriously absent at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. A paltry 21,955 tickets were sold (56.9% of the stadium's capacity) to see 2 of baseball's best of the best square off in a classic pitcher's duel. Roy Halladay, defending CY Young, ace of 4 aces for the Phils against 27 year-old Josh Johnson of the Marlins. The game lived up to its bill as a pitcher's feast, lasting only 2:36. The 2 teams combined for 11 hits and only 2 earned runs.

Ryan Howard's HR to LF in the 2nd gave the Phils a 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, Halladay allowed just 5 hits over 8 innings, struck out 9 and walked just 2. He allowed only 1 earned run. However, disappointingly for a team with World Series aspirations, the Phillies could not convert his dominating performance into a win.

"It's big because we can win the series," said Josh Johnson, who got a no-decision Tuesday, beating Halladay, who fell to 5-2. "It's not any bigger than that. We're not going to say it's stepping-stone to anything."

The Phils are batting .226 and averaging 2.4 runs per game over the last week. They have won 5 and lost 5 of their last 10 games, humbling and suspiciously mortal for the team who topped ESPN's Baseball Rankings for the 3rd straight week Monday.

LF Raul Ibanez has been red hot and has improved his season average 77 pts. to .231 in the last 8 games by going 14 for 30 (.467) with 4 doubles, 2 HRs and 5 RBIs.