Two disappointing teams open a three-game set in the City of Brotherly Love Monday when the Philadelphia Phillies play host to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The last time the Phillies and Brewers were getting ready to meet in September of 2011, both teams were on their way to division titles, Philadelphia's fifth straight NL East crown and Milwaukee's first division championship since 1982.
Fast forward 10 months and the postseason is far from anyone's mind in both cities, with the Phillies sitting last in their division and the Brewers a season-high 10 1/2 games back in the Central after getting swept by Cincinnati over the weekend.
It's been over 40 years since Philadelphia had lost eight in a row at home, and thanks to Jimmy Rollins' efforts on Sunday, it will stay that way for a little while longer.
Mired in a seven-game home slump, Rollins lined an RBI single in the 12th inning to lift the Phillies to a 4-3 victory over San Francisco in yesterday's conclusion of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia has endured a season many would wish to forget, but its third seven-game losing streak at its nine-year-old ballpark is at least now in the history books. Rollins' hit also helped snap a three-game losing streak overall.
"It was good to end that streak," Rollins said. "More importantly, it's a (win). Any (win) we can get is going to help us down the stretch."
John Mayberry Jr. hit a pair of home runs for the second time in his career for Philadelphia, while Chase Utley had an RBI triple in the opening inning. Kyle Kendrick (4-8) received the win for 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Philadelphia's woes in 2012 can largely be traced to injuries to key components like Utley, Ryan Howard and tonight's starting pitcher, Roy Halladay. All are now back, but the mountain the Phillies have to climb is monumental.
Halladay, who is 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA lifetime against Milwaukee, will try to lift Philadelphia to back-to-back home wins for the first time since June 25- 26 in his second start since returning from a stint on the disabled list.
"One guy isn't going to turn it around," the two-time Cy Young Award winner told the Phillies' website last Tuesday after hurling five innings in a 3-2 road loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. "We all need to chip in where we can."
The Brewers, meanwhile, will send former Phillie Randy Wolf to the hill on Monday. The veteran left-hander is coming off his first win in 13 starts, a 3-2 triumph over St. Louis last Tuesday in which he allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings. He is 3-2 all-time in seven career starts versus the Phillies.
No matter how well Wolf pitches, Milwaukee -- which is in the midst of a 39- inning home run drought -- will still need to find some offense. It could come from Ryan Braun, who is 5-for-10 with a home run all-time off Halladay.
Milwaukee won two of three during its last visit to Philadelphia in April of 2011.
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