Roy Halladay will pitch for the Phillies this evening as a crucial series vs. the division rival Braves opens up at Citizens Bank Park. Just two and a half games behind Philadelphia in the tight NL East race, Atlanta will attempt to gain some momentum against one of the league's top starters this year in Halladay, who is on the statistical leaderboard for a number of MLB categories, leads the NL with six shutout performances, and comes into tonight's game with a season record of 11-3 and an earned run average of just 2.44.
The Phillies will be facing off with a tough pitcher themselves, too. On the mound for the Braves will be right-handed rookie Brandon Beachy. While the Phils have given Beachy all three of his major league losses thus far, the promising pitcher struck out six batters in five innings in his last outing and is well regarded by his club.
The winner of tonight's game could receive a serious jolt of momentum in a series between the two best teams in the National League. Philadelphia leads the NL East with a 55-33 record, while Atlanta trails at 53-36.