After dropping game 2 yesterday, the Padres will try to leave Philadelphia on a high note with a win in the series finale today. Tyson Ross looks to continue being the consistent, dominating starter that San Diego has needed. Since rejoining the rotation, the right-hander has posted a 2.16 ERA while keeping opponents hitting just .189. Over that stretch, he's pitched 58 1/3 innings and racked up 63 strikeouts. This will be his first career start against the Phillies, though he has pitched against them in a relief role before. Both of those relief appearances, totaling 2 1/3 scoreless innings, came earlier this season when the Phillies came to San Diego. Ross' most recent start may have been his best of the year. He gave up only three hits in seven shutout innings against the Rockies last Saturday. Despite his phenomenal pitching, however, Ross is just 3-3 in his nine starts since returning as a starter. Moreover, he is winless in his last five. Each of those outings saw him receive just one run of support from the Padres offense.
Hopefully that offense can fare better today against Roy Halladay. The right-hander has been battling the flu and his original scheduled start yesterday was pushed to today to give him an extra day of rest. He is 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA in three starts since returning from the disabled list toward the end of August. Halladay's ERA on the season is 7.19, but that was mostly due to his rough starts in April and May, before he hit the DL. He's shown glimpses of his former self since his return and hopes to keep improving before the season's end, when he is set to become a free agent. The righty is coming off a solid, though far from perfect, start last Wednesday against the Nationals. After issuing three walks in the first inning, as well as a couple of hit batsmen, Halladay settled down and went on to keep the Nats to just one run on three hits through six innings of work. Today he'll try to improve on a career 3-2 record and 2.15 ERA against San Diego.
Catch the game this afternoon starting at 4:05 and see if the Padres can get a rare series win over the Phillies.