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Once is a thing. Twice is a happening. Three times is a pattern.
For the third straight game, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is not in the lineup. Unlike yesterday, when he failed to get the nod against right-hander Tim Hudson, the Phils face the Arizona Diamondback's left-hander Wade Miley. The 27-year-old has never faced Howard, and likely won't get the chance to pop his cherry tonight, either.
Miley, 6-6 with a 4.13 ERA and WHIP of 1.23 this season faces the struggling Kyle Kendrick, who has won just once in his last six outings and is 4-10 with a 4.87 ERA on the season. In his last three starts, he has given up 18 runs in 16.2 innings.
Grady Sizemore gets the start in center field for the Phils tonight, looking for his 1,000th career hit, and Darin Ruf gets his third straight look at first base, in the infinite quest to finally see "what he's got."