Phillies continue western swing in San Francisco

Posted: Fri May 9 11:16 AM

(Sports Network) - The struggling San Francisco Giants will open a 10-game homestand this evening, when they welcome the Philadelphia Phillies to AT&T Park for the first of three straight games.

San Francisco has lost four in a row and went 1-5 on a six-game road trip, including a 1-2 performance in South Philly from May 2-4. The Giants were just swept in three games against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, suffering a 5-4 setback in the series finale on Thursday.

Steve Holm drove in a pair of runs while Dan Ortmeier added a pair of hits and a run scored for the Giants. Matt Cain started for San Francisco and was saddled with the loss after he gave up five runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. Cain also went 2-for-3 with an RBI at the plate.

The Giants will send Patrick Misch to the mound on Friday, and he is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two games (1 start) this season. He last took the mound on May 2 at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park and did not record a decision, yielding four runs and five hits through four frames.

San Francisco will also host Houston and the Chicago White Sox on the current homestand.

Philadelphia will continue a seven-game road trip tonight and just split a four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. The Phillies were 8-3 losers on Thursday afternoon, as Arizona starter Brandon Webb went the distance to lead the way.

Phillies starter Brett Myers struggled in five innings of work, as he gave up seven runs -- six earned -- on nine hits. Shane Victorino went 2-for-4 and scored twice, while Eric Bruntlett had two hits and an RBI for the Phillies, who are one game behind Florida for the lead in the NL East.

Cole Hamels will handle pitching duties for the Phils on Friday, and he is 3-3 with a 3.10 ERA in seven starts this season. Hamels is 1-0 in his last two outings and recorded a no decision on Sunday versus the Giants. He was reached for four runs in six frames of a 6-5 victory in that game.

The lanky left-hander is 2-0 with a 3.68 earned run average through three career starts against San Francisco.

Philadelphia is 16-7 against the Giants since the start of the 2005 season.