Chase Utley has been the best Phillies hitter against the Marlins this season.

Week 18 turned out to be fairly interesting in terms of the various pennant races. The AL West is the only division without a pennant race, with the Angels basically running away from the rest with a 12.5 game lead over the Rangers, the A’s three games further back, and the Mariners long out of consideration at 28 games out of first place. The AL is still fairly tight with the Rays sitting pretty, three games ahead of the Red Sox, and the Yankees another two and a half games further back than that. The Blue Jays and Orioles are simply playing out the string. The AL Central is still dominated by the White Sox, currently one half game ahead of the surging Twins, and six games ahead of the Tigers, who can’t seem to get themselves untracked at 6.5 games back.

In the National League East, the Phillies have risen to the top, a game and a half ahead of the Marlins, with the Mets another half game behind Florida. The injury depleted Braves, and the hapless Nationals are all but out of it. In the NL Central, the Cubs solidified their hold on first place by sweeping four games from the Brewers this past week to gain a four game lead over them. The Cardinals are five games out of first and have hardly thrown in the towel. Houston, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are all thirteen or more games back, and are out of the running, barring a mineral run. Finally, the NL West is led by the Diamondbacks, who continue to win despite their offensive woes. The Rockies still think they can put together a run similar to last year’s, and the Giants and Padres are probably finished for this season and are eyeing next year.

Series of the Week – Phillies vs. Marlins, Tuesday - Thursday

If the Marlins are going to make a grab to regain first place, this is one week where they will get the chance to do it. They are on a six game road trip that takes them first to Philadelphia for a three game set with the current leader in the NL East, followed by three games against the NY Mets. At the end of this week, the Marlins could find themselves atop the standings again, or back down in third place, looking up at the Mets and Phils.

Against the Phillies this season, the Marlins have a record of 5-4 overall, and 1-2 at Citizens Bank Park. The pitchers scheduled for this three game set begins with Josh Johnson (1-0, 4.18) for the Marlins up against Jamie Moyer (10-6, 3.79) for the Phillies. Game two will feature Anibel Sanchez (1-0, 3.18) in his second start of the season, facing Kyle Kendrick (9-5, 4.59). The final game will pit Marlins rookie Chris Volstad (2-2, 3.25) versus the Phillies’ Cole Hamels (9-7, 3.37).

The Phillies hitters that have feasted on Marlins pitchers this season are led by Pat Burrell who has batted .375 with seven of his twelve hits going for extra bases, including three home runs and six RBI. Chase Utley, as usual, has batted .353, with three home runs and seven RBI. While Ryan Howard has led the team in RBI against the Marlins with eight, to go with his two home runs, despite only batting .182.

Marlins hitters to watch out for in this series are led by Jorge Cantu, who has four home runs and 11 RBI to go along with his .432 batting average against Philly pitching. Cody Ross has batted .333 with a pair of home runs, while Mike Jacobs has hit three homers and driven in six, and Dan Uggla has a pair of homers and six RBI. It should be noted that in the nine games played between these two clubs a total of 28 home runs have been hit; 16 by the Marlins and 12 by the Phillies. This is somewhat surprising since six of the nine games have been played in Florida as opposed to Citizens Bank Park. There will likely be plenty of long ball action in this three game set, so if your fantasy team has any Marlins or Phillies hitters on the roster, make sure they’re active this week.