Following their get-away day win over the Giants Sunday, the Phillies
hit the road for a big early season test in Arizona. The Phightins
stand at 18-13 and in first place in the NL East, a half game ahead of
the Mets and Marlins. They’ve avoided their trademark slow start, and
they’ve overcome some key injuries and a struggling Ryan Howard, but
the Phillies are about to find out just how they compare to the
National League’s elite. The D-backs own the best record in baseball
and have done it with equally good pitching and hitting. Arizona’s
great pitching is no surprise as it was the arms that carried them to
the NLCS last year. A staff headlined by Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and
an aging Randy Johnson own the second best ERA in baseball (3.36) and
have allowed the second fewest hits in the majors. The difference this
year has been a suprisingly explosive lineup.  Last year Arizona was
29th in the majors in batting average, and 26th in runs scored. This
year they’re 7th in batting average and 2nd in runs scored. The
Phillies meanwhile - while they’ve recently found a way to win -  the
offense has yet to establish itself.  Chase Utley and Pat Burrell have
accounted for almost half the team’s home runs (22) and more than a
third of the RBI (56). While Howard has shown signs of progress
recently, don’t hold your breath for him to come out of his funk
against the D-backs strong pitching.  The Phils have the bad luck of
having Cole Hamels miss the Arizona series but at the same time catch
a break by avoiding Diamondbacks hurler Dan Haren (4-1, 3.13).  As for
where exactly Arizona’s potent offense came from? A couple names to
look out for…Conor Jackson (.350, 5 HR, 25 RBI), Josh Upton (.346, 5
HR, 16 RBI), Chris Young (.244 6 HR 15 RBI), and Mark Reynolds (.226,
7 HR 24 RBI). It might not be the Mets, and you might need an
afternoon nap to stay up through the late west coast start times but
this series will give the best indicator to date of where the
defending 2007 NL East Champs stand. With little offensive production
from anyone other than Utley and Burrell over the weekend, the Phils
struggled to win two of three from the Giants.  That combined with the
D-back’s superior pitching makes for a tall order.  Be more than happy
with a split, but not all that surprised if Arizona takes three of four.