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Tyler Cloyd not intimidated by Chase Field; Roy Halladay to undergo surgery Wednesday

Cloyd will make his first major league start against a hot Diamondbacks offense in a hitter's park on Friday.

Some of the best pitchers in baseball history were also some of the game's most intimidating.

Bob Gibson. Bob Feller. Sandy Koufax. Don Drysdale. Roger Clemens*. Randy Johnson. Aroldis Chapman.

But it can work the other way around, like if a rookie pitcher was summoned in to face Barry Bonds* in late-inning situation in 2002.

Or if your Tyler Cloyd and you're brought into the big leagues to face one of the league's top offenses, featuring one of the league's top hitters in one of baseball's most hitter-friendly ballparks.

According to saber king Bill James's run index stat, Chase Field is the NL's second hitter-friendliest park since 2010 (behind Coors Field) and the fifth friendliest in all of baseball.

"It can intimidate anyone if that Louisville catches up with him," Charlie Manuel said of the home run haven in Phoenix. "Why would you get intimidated? That's the key to being great."

Cloyd has a couple things going for him. It's not his first taste of the big leagues, so he shouldn't be as easily rattled. And he also seemed unconcerned when asked about the hitter-friendly environs of Chase Field.

"For me, it's just another game," said Cloyd, who will start on Friday in place of the recently-DL'd Roy Halladay. "Obviously I can only control the pitches the pitches I throw and how they go, so for me it's going out there, trusting my stuff as I always do and keep the ball down."

More than a couple Phils pitchers have got bitten by the D-backs here in the last few years.

In April of 2010, Cole Hamels served up four home runs in a 7-4 defeat. Last April, Kyle Kendrick gave up seven runs on 11 hits in a 9-5 loss.

Although they traded their best hitter this winter - Justin Upton, now in Atlanta, leads the NL in home runs - Arizona's offense is one of the best in the league.

The D-backs have scored 153 runs (4th in the NL), have hit 38 home runs (5th), have accumulated 488 total bases (2nd), and have a .411 slugging percentage (4th) and .726 OPS (4th).

They also have the hottest hitter in baseball in first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Goldschmidt is hitting .320 with nine home runs and a 1.005 OPS this season. But he's been ridiculous in May: .488, .516 OBP, 1.516 OPS and four home runs in seven games.

It's a formidable task for Cloyd, but he's also done OK in May. Cloyd allowed one run on four hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks in eight innings of his only start of the month last Friday in Lehigh Valley.

"Everything kind of clicked finally," Cloyd said. "My cutter was finally there. I had a good four-seamer and I was able to locate everything. It was the best I felt all year."

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The Phillies announced that Roy Halladay will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The surgery will be performed by Neal ElAttrache, the doctor who examined Halladay this week. The team expects to have a timetable on his return following the procedure, but it is expected to keep him sidelined for at least a couple of months.

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PHILLIES LINEUP vs. D-BACKS

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS

2. Chase Utley, 2B

3. Michael Young, 3B

4. Ryan Howard, 1B

5. Delmon Young, RF

6. Domonic Brown, LF

7. Carlos Ruiz, C

8. Ben Revere, CF

9. Cole Hamels, P