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PHI@NYM: Hamels strikes out six to tally eighth win

PHILADELPHIA --- Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee may have been considered the top two pitchers in the Phillies' rotation entering the season, but Cole Hamels has pitched as well as anyone in baseball thus far in 2012.

Hamels, the quickest in Major League Baseball to reach eight wins, will go for a league-leading ninth victory when he faces the Marlins on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies have won in nine of Hamels' 10 starts this season.

The southpaw, who is 6-8 with a 3.51 ERA in 20 career starts against the Marlins, has said that he and the rest of the pitching staff are not going to bring any added stress onto the mound knowing that Halladay is expected to be out six to eight weeks.

"I'm just trying to keep the same approach that I have," Hamels said Monday after his last start, an 8-4 win over the Mets. "I try to go out and win as many games as I can. I'm trying to go deep into the ballgame, and obviously, not allow as many runs. I think that's going to be the same approach that [Joe] Blanton and Cliff and [Kyle Kendrick] and whoever now has to fill the role of Doc [all take]. But we know that our goal is to really go out there and make pitches and not worry about anything else."

The Marlins will send Ricky Nolasco to the mound, who noted the importance of the current series before Friday's series opener. The Marlins are hoping to carry the momentum from a record-setting month in which they went 21-8.

"It's big to continue what we were doing last month," Nolasco said of the series against the Phillies. "We know we've got to play these guys well, and try to take two out of three. It would be big to start off this month with another series win."

Behind 14 hits, the Phillies won Friday's game, 6-4.

Marlins: Guillen sticking with slumping Buck
Despite his recent slump, catcher John Buck was in the lineup in Friday's series opener at Philadelphia. Buck, who was 2-for-25 in Miami's most recent homestand and is batting .160, went 0-for-3 with a walk on Friday.

"The only way he's not going to hit is sitting next to me," manager Ozzie Guillen said before Friday's game. "Then he's got no chance."

"I've gone through the stage of being hard on myself for where I'm at," Buck said. "I've come to terms, I've stunk. I'm going to own the average I have right now. The thing is, I know it has zero affect if I get a hit today or not."

• With the left-handed Hamels getting the start for Philadelphia, it's possible that Justin Ruggiano could get his first start in left field. Donovan Solano is another right-handed bat who could get the start. Ruggiano hit a pinch-hit homer on Friday.

Phillies: Club awaiting Doc's second opinion
The Phillies are waiting on the results of Halladay's second opinion from Mets physician David Altcheck. Halladay was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday with a right latissimus dorsi strain after visiting with Phillies physician Michael Ciccotti.

Altcheck is looking at a previous MRI examination that Halladay took and a recent CT scan.

• Right-hander Vance Worley is preparing to come off the DL at just the right time for the Phillies. Worley threw 45-50 pitches in a bullpen session on Friday and said he felt no discomfort or pain. All signs point to him sliding back into the pitching rotation to pitch Monday against the Dodgers, filling in the spot vacated by Halladay.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said if Worley felt good on Saturday, he would likely start Monday.

"Everything was coming out the way it should," Worley said of his bullpen session.

• Amaro also said it is unlikely that injured second baseman Chase Utley will play with the Phillies before the end of this month. Amaro gave a similar assessment of first baseman Ryan Howard on Wednesday.

Worth noting
• Center fielder Shane Victorino was held out Friday's starting lineup after receiving a cortisone shot in his right hand near his index finger. The area had been sore since Spring Training.

"It started getting a little worse as time went on," said Victorino, who intends to start Saturday. "I think it's going to be there for the rest of the year, but hopefully the cortisone shot brings some relief. And that's what I would want. It's nothing more than that."

Victorino entered Friday's game in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement, but soon after came out in a double switch that brought in closer Jonathan Papelbon.

• Catcher Carlos Ruiz, who was not in the lineup in any of the Phillies' three games against the Mets earlier in the week with a mild right hamstring strain, returned to the lineup on Friday and went 3-for-4, raising his average to .381.

• Nolasco's last win against the Phillies was on April 17, 2010, when he threw a complete game, allowing just five hits. Nolasco is 6-4 with a 3.55 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) against the Phillies.

• Jim Thome and Michael Martinez both played in their first rehab starts at Class A Clearwater on Friday. Thome went 1-for-3 with a walk and Martinez was 1-for-4 and scored a run.

• Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 12 games on Friday.

• With an RBI double in the first inning, Giancarlo Stanton has at least one RBI in five straight games.

• The Phillies lead the season series, 3-1.

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