VENUE: Citizens Bank Park
The Philadelphia Phillies kept rolling after arriving home from a highly successful road trip, moving within one game of the NL East lead.
They'd prefer to see Roy Halladay on a similar surge heading down the stretch.
Halladay's numbers weren't bad in back-to-back losses, but he'll be anxious to get back in the win column Saturday night against the Milwaukee Brewers as the Phillies seek a fifth straight victory.
Philadelphia (77-58) ended its last homestand miserably, getting swept in four games by Houston before departing for seven games against the NL West.
A 6-1 trip pulled the Phillies within two games of division-leading Atlanta, and they cut that deficit in half Friday in their return to Citizens Bank Park. A second-inning run was enough to support brilliant efforts from Cole Hamels and two relievers in a 1-0 win over Milwaukee, while the Braves lost 6-1 at Florida.
"I think they'll look at the standings," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "I think they'll feel us."
A shot at a five-game winning streak - and perhaps a share of the division lead - seems like a good possibility with Halladay (16-10, 2.27 ERA) pitching, but the ace has dropped his last two decisions.
He went seven innings and gave up three runs in each start, yet the former Cy Young Award winner wasn't pleased after surrendering 10 hits in a 3-0 loss to Los Angeles on Monday.
"I felt like I was a little sloppy all night. I made a couple of good pitches and I made some bad pitches along the way, too," Halladay said. "I knew early on it was going to be a little bit of a grind for me."
The Brewers (62-72) have totaled nine runs in dropping the first four games of a six-game trip, and they won't be able to rely on much previous experience against Halladay. He has faced Milwaukee once in his 13-year career, surrendering four runs over six innings in a 5-2 loss with Toronto in 2005.
The Phillies have reason to believe Halladay will bounce back from his losses. He's 21-11 in September with a 2.46 ERA, easily his lowest in any full month.
Milwaukee counters with Dave Bush (7-11, 4.71), who looks to build on his lengthiest outing in two and a half months. Bush made it through seven innings Sunday for the first time since June 15, yielding four runs in an 8-4 victory over Pittsburgh.
All of the Pirates' runs came on three homers, and Bush has allowed 10 in his last four outings. Seven, however, have been solo shots.
"I'd rather not give them up, but for the most part, solo homers aren't so bad," Bush told the Brewers' official website. "I'd prefer to keep the ball in the yard a little better, but it's a product of how I pitch. I try to throw a lot of strikes early in the count."
The right-hander has given up 12 homers in 51 2-3 career innings against Philadelphia, going 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA. He kept them in the yard for the first time May 16 at Miller Park, but gave up three runs over six innings in a 4-2 loss.
Ryan Howard is 8 for 22 (.364) with two homers off of Bush. Infielder Greg Dobbs, called up from Triple-A on Friday, is 6 for 14 (.429) with a pair of home runs against him.
