May 5 -- RAISING ARIZONA

Good morning, all.

Got a few minutes before I have to board a US Airways flight to Phoenix, so let's preview the Phillies-D-Backs series that starts tonight at Chase Field. I watched a bit of the D-Backs' loss to the Mets yesterday, and it occurred to me that folks in our corner of the country don't know much about them. They were the surprise of baseball last season, winning the NL West despite allowing more runs than they scored. But that experience, coupled with getting swept in the NLCS by the Rockies, only helped the young D-Backs, who are off to a 21-10 start.

Arizona is built on pitching. Brandon Webb, who will start Thursday, may be the best in the league (sorry, Johan Santana and Jake Peavy), and the offseason addition of Dan Haren gave them perhaps the majors' best 1-2 punch. If they get anything out of 44-year-old Randy Johnson, heavy-hitting Micah Owings (.429 batting average, 4.42 ERA) or 23-year-old flamethrower Max Scherzer, they'll be tough to beat, especially in October. Scherzer, who retired 13 straight batters (seven by strikeout) in his major-league debut last week, will make his first start tonight against Phillies lefty Jamie Moyer. Scherzer wasn't even 2 years old when Moyer made his major-league debut in on June 16, 1986.

Here's a look at the series:

PHILLIES (18-14) at DIAMONDBACKS (21-10)
Tonight, 9:40: LHP Jamie Moyer (1-2, 4.50) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (0-0, 0.00)
Tuesday, 9:40: RHP Adam Eaton (0-0, 4.72) vs. LHP Randy Johnson (1-1, 4.79)
Wednesday, 9:40: RHP Kyle Kendrick (2-2, 5.01) vs. RHP Micah Owings (4-1, 4.66)
Thursday, 3:40: RHP Brett Myers (2-2, 4.70) vs. RHP Brandon Webb (7-0, 2.49)
Hot: Phillies 2B Chase Utley, the NL Player of the Month for April, batted .348 (8-for-23) with three homers and five RBIs during the six-game homestand; Phillies RH closer Brad Lidge hasn't allowed an earned run and has struck out 13 batters in 15 innings; Diamondbacks RF Justin Upton has eight hits in his last 18 at-bats (.444); Diamondbacks 1B Conor Jackson has nine hits in his last 24 at-bats (.375).
Not: Phillies OF Jayson Werth has two hits in his last 21 at-bats; Phillies 1B Ryan Howard is 0-for-11 with five strikeouts since his game-winning homer Thursday night; Diamondbacks 3B Mark Reynolds has three hits and 14 strikeouts in his last 26 at-bats; Diamondbacks CF Eric Byrnes has two hits in his last 28 at-bats.

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Kevin Tresolini took a break from covering UD and pinch-hit for me at the Bank yesterday. He has details from the walk-off win (Charlie Manuel's 500th managerial victory) over the Giants, and the Phillies' thoughts on facing Arizona.

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Almost about to board. I hear it's going to be 95 degrees in Phoenix today, but, as the natives say, it's a dry heat. We'll see. More later from the desert.