The Chicago Cubs (6-13) put together a nice series against the rival St. Louis Cardinals earlier this week and claimed their first series victory of the 2012 MLB season, but it's going to be difficult to start as well against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night. Ace Roy Halladay takes the mound for Philadelphia, and once against he is off to a terrific start with a 3-1 record, 1.50 ERA, .178 batting average allowed and a spectacular 0.90 WHIP. That's all bad news for a Cubs offense that ranks 24th in runs scored (66), 25th in batting average (.235), 25th in on-base percentage (.295) and 28th in slugging percentage (.333).
The Phillies have been stingy with their run support for Halladay so far this year, but the Cubs will need Paul Maholm to come out and pitch like he did against the Reds on April 21 -- where he threw 6.0 innings and allowed just one earned run -- if they want a chance to knock off one of the best starters in the game.
Here is the basic information you need to find Friday's game:
Starting Pitchers: Paul Maholm (1-2, 8.36 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (3-1, 1.50)
Game Date & Time: Friday, April 27, 6:05 pm CT
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
TV: CSN-Chicago
Radio: AM 720
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to Cubs blog Bleed Cubbie Blue and Phillies blog The Good Phight. For more news and notes from around baseball, visit Baseball Nation.