Dodgers Acquire Thome, Garland

The Los Angeles Dodgers made a couple late night moves prior to the waiver deadline. They acquired Jim Thome from the Chicago White Sox and Jon Garland from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The White Sox will receive Justin Fuller. The Diamondbacks will likely receive Tony Abreu.

The Dodgers fell to the D'backs last night in 10 innings. Garland did not need any travel arrangements. All Garland had to do was walk across the hallway to get to the other side of the clubhouse. Adding Garland was a good addition for the Dodgers. He'll fill in as a fifth starter. He was 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA.

The Thome trade is a little strange. With James Loney manning first base, Thome will serve nothing more than a bat off the bench. Thome is batting .252 with 22 home runs and 74 RBI this season as a designated hitter. The Dodgers are not going to take out one of the best defensive first baseman for Thome, who hasn't played first base since his days as a Phillie.

Sluggers Heat Up In Time for Dbacks/Phils Series

For full gameday, please visit Phillies Nation.

The Arizona Diamondbacks (54-65) play at the Philadelphia Phillies (66-49).

Jon Garland (6-10, 4.28 ERA) starts vs. Pedro Martinez (1-0, 5.40 ERA).

After a six game road trip, the Phillies return home for a quick stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Phillies took two out of three against the D-backs at the end of July. It isn't as hot as it is Arizona, but with the warm weather, the ball will be flying out of Citizens Bank Park.

Pedro Martinez will make his home debut in his second start of the season. He pitched well against the Cubs, allowing three runs in five innings. Garland was backed by horrible defense when he faced the Phillies earlier this year. He gave up six runs (three earned) in six innings.

As it gets closer to September, Ryan Howard is starting to heat up. He has four home runs in the last four games. He is batting .381 will 11 RBI over the last seven days. Howard has Garland in his book, homering off him in July. The Diamondbacks have a big bopper as well. Mark Reynolds has homered in three straight games. He is batting .285 with 38 homers and a .981 OPS on the season. With the humidity, expect a power (or strike out) display, especially from these two sluggers.

Moyer Magic

Originally Posted on Phillies Nation.

"Two hands!" Jamie Moyer yelled on a soft pop-up to Ryan Howard. That was the story for Moyer, who was the ultimate magician in Monday's 6-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In the second inning, Moyer loaded the bases with nobody out. He escaped the jam by striking out Jon Garland and getting Stephen Drew to ground into a 4-6-3 twin killing. In addition, Moyer managed to get through the first and third innings scot-free after allowing two runners both innings. He allowed, but stranded, seven runners through the first three innings.

The Phillies were unable to manage a hit off Garland through the first 3.1 innings. Garland effectively got hitters to ground out until Chase Utley broke up the no-hit bid with a single. Ryan Howard followed with a long drive to one of the deepest parts of the ballpark, left center field. Garland located the pitch in Howard's wheelhouse: down and in. It resulted in an opposite field moonshot that gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the fourth.

The Phillies kept tacking on runs and were helped by horrendous Diamondback defense. Jimmy Rollins kept his hot streak going with a RBI double in the fifth. In the sixth, excellent base-running by Chase Utley led to a big inning. Utley managed to go first-to-third on a fielding error by second baseman Ryan Roberts. It opened the gates as the Phillies scored three runs in the inning, jumping to a 6-0 lead.

Moyer settled down, pitching 6.2 scoreless innings. He allowed six hits and walked four, but he struck out five. The offense backed Moyer to give him his 10th win of the year. It is the 15th time in his career he has had at least 10 wins in a season.

Phils/Dbacks Open Series

For full gameday, visit Phillies Nation.

Philadelphia Phillies (56-40) play at Arizona Diamondbacks (43-56).

Jamie Moyer (9-7, 5.65 ERA) starts vs. Jon Garland (5-9, 4.41 ERA).

In the scorching Arizona weather, the Phillies will send Jamie Moyer to the mound against the fourth place Diamondbacks, managed by the one-time Phillie, A.J Hinch.

Moyer's season has been a roller coaster, and it's very unpredictable as to what kind of outing he'll have. Moyer tends to have success against the young, free-swinging clubs, like the D'backs. In his last three games against Arizona, Moyer is 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA. Also, Moyer has had more success on the road. He is 5-2 with a 4.38 away from The Bank this season.

In July, Garland has thrown five consecutive quality starts, posting a 2.73 earned run average in the month. The problem is that he lacks run support. The Phillies have been a hot team winning 13 of 15, but they are also facing a hot pitcher.

Manuel Wants Manny

No, the other Manuel. Jerry Manuel, the New York Mets manager, welcomed the idea of unsigned free agent, Manny Ramirez.

"It's rare that you get that type of talent. I mean, boom! Right in the
middle of the lineup type of guy, and right-handed for us, that would be a big
bonus."

"Would you like to have that? Yeah. Would you like to add something
else? Yeah. But hey, we have to deal with what we have, and what we have , we
feel like we have enough tools to make it into the playoffs."- Manuel

In other news, the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms with free agent pitcher, Jon Garland. The one year deal will be worth between $6-8 million. With the Los Angeles Angels in 2008, Garland was 14-8 with a 4.90 ERA.

The Diamondbacks also made an offer to former Phillie, Randy Wolf, but have no come to an agreement.

The Cubs, who have also been rumored to Wolf, acquired former Met, Aaron Hielman. The Cubs acquired Aaron Hielman from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Olson.

This is the second time this offseason Hielman was traded. The Mets traded him in a package deal for reliever J.J Putz. Hielman had a 5.21 ERA in 2008.

QUOTE SOURCE: Philly.com