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Halladay hurls seven frames of one-run ball

Scoring only one run during the first two games of their four-game series with the Phillies, things will get no easier for the Padres on Saturday when ace Roy Halladay takes the mound for Philadelphia at Petco Park.

In three career starts against the Padres, the right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.90 ERA, striking out 29 in 23 2/3 innings.

He's also 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA to begin the season, after getting his first career victory against the Giants on Monday. Halladay tossed eight solid innings, giving up two runs on seven hits, but he felt like he still has room to improve, especially in his mechanics.

"Really, all three starts of the year, I've just felt better later on," Halladay said. "Once I get going, I feel like I get in a rhythm and I'm repeating better. I'm working on trying to do a better job of that early in the game.

"It's not that it's not there. It's just not consistent. It's there, but I feel like at times early on, I get caught trying to make something better than it should be and getting away from what I should be doing. Really, I think that's the biggest thing -- staying within myself and not trying to make better pitches than I need to. I feel like that's been the biggest reason."

Either way, those are tough numbers to compete with if you are Cory Luebke, Saturday's starter for the Padres.

Luebke will likely rely on his changeup, a pitch he has gradually worked into his arsenal as the season has progressed.

Aggressive with the changeup, along with his slider and fastball on Monday against the Rockies, the left-hander surrendered only one run on six hits in seven innings for his first win of the season.

"I got some outs with some changeups with some of those guys who hadn't seen me use my changeup much," Luebke said. "The first two outings, outing and a half, were a little frustrating, because you spend all offseason working on your offspeed and you can't find it for your first start and a half, you start to think, 'What were you doing?' But I felt better. That was the reason we got some of those quick outs, because we were able to mix them up a little bit more."

Phillies: Ruiz out of lineup
Catcher Carlos Ruiz was out of the lineup Friday night against the Padres due to a sore left wrist he injured in a collision at the plate in Thursday's 2-0 victory at Petco Park.

The Phillies will reevaluate his wrist on Saturday after Ruiz said it was both sore and swollen. The injury is considered day to day.

"He was having trouble gripping a bat, and I decided that today is the day that I would give him the day off," manager Charlie Manuel said on Friday. "I might give him another one, but we'll see how he is tomorrow."

• Manuel also indicated that second baseman Freddy Galvis could stay with the team after Chase Utley returns from his knee issues, rather than going to the Minors.

Padres: Stauffer enters new rehab phase
Right-hander Tim Stauffer, who has been on the disabled list since Opening Day with a strained right elbow, will throw a bullpen session on Saturday and will throw a simulated game on Tuesday if no setbacks occur.

Manager Bud Black said Stauffer will throw between 40 and 50 pitches Tuesday, and if he feels fine, will likely head out for a Minor League rehabilitation stint before he's reinstated.

"We'll be able to gauge where he is," said Black.

• Cameron Maybin was back in the second spot in the order on Friday against the Phillies after going hitless in three at-bats there on Thursday with two strikeouts. He finished Friday going 1-for-4 with one run scored.

"We're trying to give Cam a different spot, a little different perspective," Black said. "This will let him watch [from the on-deck circle] the first at-bat of the game."

Worth noting
• Carlos Quentin, who completed another round of pregame batting practice with his Padres teammates before Friday's game, hit several pitches into the seats in left field.

• Phillies reliever Jose Contreras made his 2012 debut on Friday, working a scoreless seventh inning.

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