Roy Halladay, who celebrated his 34th birthday yesterday, will look to continue his recent dominance over the Braves this afternoon as the teams meet in the annual MLB Civil Rights game. Halladay is 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in five career starts against Atlanta. He will oppose Tim Hudson, who has a mixed record against the Phillies, going 7-7 with a 3.70 ERA lifetime.
A guy to watch today will be Ryan Howard, who has hit Hudson well in his career. With a .318 average to go along with 6 home runs and 13 RBI.
The teams will be wearing throwback uniforms from 1974, which is the year Hank Aaron his his 715th home run to break Babe Ruth’s all time record. Aaron spoke about the role of baseball in the civil rights movement at a roundtable discussion earlier this weekend.
The Phillies will be without the services of CF Shane Victorino this afternoon after he left in the 8th inning of yesterday’s game with hamstring soreness. Victorino says he doesn’t expect to go on the DL or miss any significant time. Michael Martinez will take his spot in centerfield and will bat second. John Mayberry Jr will get a start in right field today.
The season series between the teams is even at 4-4 so far.