TONIGHT IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Montreal (13-28) at Philadelphia (22-20) 7:05 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Montreal Expos try to put the brakes on a six-game road losing streak tonight when they begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Expos split a six-game homestand, capped by Sunday's 13-4 loss to Milwaukee. Montreal is 6-10 on the road but has been outscored, 50-28, in its last six games away from Olympic Stadium. Miguel Batista (3-1, 3.96 ERA) tries to win consecutive starts for the second time this season. The righthander defeated Philadelphia on Tuesday, allowing four runs -- three earned -- and eight hits over 6 2/3 innings. He has surrendered seven earned runs and 19 hits in his last three starts, spanning 19 1/3 innings (3.29 ERA). The win over the Phillies is his only career decision against them. Philadelphia appeared headed toward a win Sunday before the New York Mets rallied for five runs in the bottom of the ninth against ace Curt Schilling. The Phillies have dropped four of their last five games and are just 8-9 at home. Joel Bennett (1-1, 9.35) makes his third start of the season for Philadelphia. The 29-year-old righthander pitched well in winning his first major league start against Colordo on May 8, allowing two runs and eight hits over five innings. But he was ripped for seven runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings in a 7-4 loss to Montreal on Tuesday. The Phillies won the first four meetings between the teams this season before losing the last two. NY Mets (25-19) at Pittsburgh (21-22) 7:05 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The New York Mets hope to build off Sunday's stunning victory tonight when they open a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Philadelphia Phillies ace Curt Schilling took a four-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning but the Mets rallied behind a two-run homer by Robin Ventura and John Olerud's two-out, two-run single to pull out a stirring 5-4 victory. New York has won four of its last five games and is just 1 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the National League East. Mets first baseman John Olerud is batting .454 (20-for-44) during a 13-game hitting streak. With starters Al Leiter and Bobby Jones nursing injuries, the Mets turn to former phenom Jason Isringhausen (NR). The 26-year-old righthander did not pitch last season following right elbow surgery and makes his first major league appearance since September 23, 1997. He went 2-2 with a 7.58 ERA in six starts in 1997, another injury-plagued season for Isringhausen, who is 2-2 with a 5.29 ERA in five career games against the Pirates. The Pirates have won two straight following a five-game losing streak, scoring 17 runs in the two wins after managing just 12 in the slide. Francisco Cordova (0-2, 8.76) makes his second start since coming off the disabled list. The righthander was tagged for five runs and five hits over 5 1/3 innings in a 7-3 loss at Atlanta on Wednesday. Cordova spent over a month on the DL with inflammation in his right shoulder. He is 2-3 with a 4.70 ERA in eight career games against the Mets. The Pirates won five of nine meetings against the Mets last season. Florida (13-31) at Chicago Cubs (23-18) 8:05 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Standing a season-high five games over .500, the surging Chicago Cubs open a three-game series against baseball's worst team, the Florida Marlins, tonight. The Cubs defeated the Atlanta Braves, 5-1, Sunday and took three of four games in the series. Chicago won six of seven games on a road trip that began with a three-game sweep of the Marlins. The Cubs have won nine of their last 12 contests. Chicago will have the services of outfielder Glenallen Hill tonight. Hill, who was activated from the disabled list Sunday, was off to a fast start before getting injured, batting .452 with five home runs and 15 RBI in 15 games. Jon Lieber (4-1, 3.40) faces the Marlins for the second time in six days. The righthander gave up six runs -- four earned -- and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision Wednesday. Before that outing, Lieber had allowed just three runs in his previous two starts, spanning 16 innings. Lieber is 2-1 lifetime against Florida. The Marlins have lost four of their last six games but are 7-9 since opening the season 6-22. Coming off a dismal outing in his last appearance, Jesus Sanchez (1-4, 6.75 ERA) gets the ball for Florida. The lefthander recorded just two outs while allowing four runs and three hits but escaped with a no-decision in the Marlins' 8-7 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday. Sanchez has pitched past the fifth inning only three times in nine starts this season. The Cubs have won five of six games against the Marlins this year and 12 of the last 15 meetings over the last two seasons. Colorado (18-22) at Houston (26-16) 8:05 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The Colorado Rockies send Brian Bohanon to the mound tonight as they try and move closer to the .500 mark in the opener of a four-game series against the Houston Astros. Dante Bichette hit a three-run homer to cap a four-run ninth inning as the Rockies rallied for a 7-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. Bichette has 11 hits in his last 21 at-bats for Colorado, which has won three of its last four games following a 24-12 loss to Cincinnati. Bohanon (6-1, 4.35 ERA) looks to become the fourth seven-game winner in the National League. The lefthander won his first five starts before losing to Philadelphia on May 8. He rebounded with a complete-game victory at Arizona in his next outing but was tagged for seven runs and 10 hits over 2 2/3 innings in the loss to the Reds on Wednesday. Bohanon is 2-0 with a sparkling 0.93 ERA in four career games against the Astros. The Astros received another strong outing from Jose Lima in Sunday's 4-1 victory over San Francisco. Houston completed a 3-3 road trip and improved to an NL-best 11-2 when facing lefthanded starters. The Astros have won five of their last six home games. Shane Reynolds (6-3, 4.06) tries to rebound from three straight sub-par outings for Houston. The righthander is 1-2 in his last three starts with a 7.87 ERA, allowing 14 runs and 21 hits over 16 innings. Reynolds surrendered more than three runs only once in his first six starts but has done so in each of his last three outings. Reynolds is 1-2 with a 4.85 ERA in six games lifetime against Colorado. The Rockies won six of 11 meetings against the Astros last season. Atlanta (26-17) at Milwaukee (20-22) 8:05 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- The Milwaukee Brewers look to improve on their dismal play at County Stadium tonight when they begin an 11-game homestand against Tom Glavine and the Atlanta Braves. The Brewers finished their road trip to New York and Montreal 4-3 following Sunday's 13-4 rout of the Expos. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, it has lost 11 of 15 games at home this season compared to a 15-11 road record. Glavine (3-4, 4.45 ERA), the reigning Cy Young Award winner, again tries to win back-to-back starts for the first time this season. Since going 0-3 in his first four outings, Glavine has bounced back to win three of his last five but has been unable to put together consecutive victories. Last time out, the lefthander gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings in a win over Pittsburgh. This may be the perfect chance for Glavine to notch wins in consecutive outings. He went 2-0 against Milwaukee last season, yielding just three runs over 18 1/3 innings in three starts. The Braves had won four straight games before losing three of four to the Chicago Cubs, including Sunday's 5-1 setback. Atlanta is just 6-8 since opening the season 20-9. The Brewers counter with righthander Steve Woodard (3-4, 4.84), who is looking to rebound from his worst outing of the season. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings in a 10-1 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday, getting ripped for a season-high eight runs and eight hits. Woodard went 1-1 in two starts against Atlanta last season. The Braves won seven of nine meetings against the Brewers last season. San Diego (17-25) at Arizona (24-21) 10:05 pm EDT ---------------------------------------------------------------- PHOENIX (Ticker) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks look to improve on the best home record in the majors tonight when they open a three-game set against the struggling San Diego Padres. Arizona went 3-4 on its road trip to San Francisco and Colorado but should be happy to get back to Bank One Ballpark, where it is 14-5. The Diamonbacks are 11 games ahead of last season's pace. They were 13-32 after 45 games last year. Winless in his last five starts, Andy Benes (2-5, 6.19 ERA) seeks to stop a personal three-game losing streak as he takes the mound for Arizona. The righthander has surrendered 16 earned runs and 31 hits in his last five outings, spanning 33 2/3 innings. But the Diamondbacks have lost his last four starts, scoring just nine runs in that span. Benes won at San Diego on April 23, allowing four runs and seven hits over six innings in a 10-6 victory. He improved to 3-2 lifetime against his former team. The Padres have lost six of their last eight games, scoring just 22 runs in that span. Andy Ashby (5-2, 3.70) hopes to bounce back from one of his worst outings of the season for San Diego. He was ripped for six runs and five hits and tied a season high with five walks in five innings, but escaped with a no-decision in a 7-6 win over St. Louis. It was just the third time in nine starts he allowed more than three runs. But Ashby has a pair of factors in his favor tonight. The righthander has been excellent in four road starts this season, going 3-0 while surrendering just seven runs with five walks and 16 strikeouts over 26 innings. Ashby was almost as good against Arizona last season, yielding three earned runs with five walks and 19 strikeouts over 23 innings to go 2-1. The Diamondbacks took two of three from the Padres in April.  