When the venerable lefty steps on the mound at Nationals Park on Wednesday, it will be the 46th mound he's toed in a career that began on June 16, 1986, and has entered its 22nd season.

"It just means they're building a lot of new parks," said Moyer, dryly, adding that his favorite park is the Grand Canyon.

Moyer downplayed the staying power required to achieve such a milestone, possibly not wanting to be reminded of his age. The lefty checked out the bullpen mound over the first two days of the series and studied the wind patterns the best he could. He'll go to work hoping to build on on his previous outing, in which he allowed three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.

Moyer's park count puts him atop the list of active starting pitchers. Fellow veterans Randy Johnson (43), Curt Schilling (43), Mike Timlin (41), Greg Maddux (38), Trevor Hoffman (37) and Kenny Rogers (37) approach Moyer, but can't top him.

Teammate Tom Gordon tied Moyer at 45 with one inning of relief on Tuesday, but Moyer will retake that lead on Wednesday.

Moyer doesn't have the highest total on the Phillies. That distinction goes to Rudy Seanez, who enters Wednesday's game with a chance to reach 47.

"That's a lot of parks, man," Seanez said. "I've always liked Atlanta -- Turner Field, not Fulton-County. L.A., both [parks in] San Diego were pretty good. I like New York just because it's New York -- the Yankees."

At 39, Seanez hopes to increase that total next season, with new parks for the Yankees and Mets soon to arrive.

"I've just been around," Seanez said. "I've been able to go past what I ever thought I would. It's so far away when you're down there and have never been to the big leagues. I thought maybe I'd get a callup. You hope to just play one day. Then the day turns into a week, then a year, then five and 10. I never thought I'd be around so long.

"When you get here, you want to keep going and going. It's like a drug. You know you can't keep going; you know it's going to end one way or another."

Pitching matchup
PHI: LHP Jamie Moyer (3-3, 4.89 ERA)
It helped that Moyer got great run support in his last start, a 10-3 victory over the Blue Jays on Friday, as the Phils vaulted out to an 8-0 lead after three innings. It was one of Moyer's best starts, as he rebounded from two previous poor starts.

WSH: LHP Matt Chico (0-5, 6.07 ERA)
With the Nationals wanting Shawn Hill to rest his ailing right elbow, Chico will face the Phillies. Chico began the season as a starter, but he was demoted to the bullpen after enduring four consecutive bad outings. The major reason for the ineffectiveness was that Chico was pressing on the mound. However, it has been a different story for Chico out of the bullpen; he has given up just one run in 6 1/3 innings.

Tidbits
Infielder Greg Dobbs is nursing a sore lower back, which he tweaked while fielding a ball in the outfield during pregame exercises on Monday. He pinch-hit on both Monday and Tuesday. ... Catcher Chris Coste, a proud resident of Fargo, N.D., will visit the capital and meet Sen. Kent Conrad (D -- N.D.). Conrad is also Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. The meeting was requested by Conrad, and Coste plans to give the senator a copy of his book, "The 33-Year-Old Rookie."

Tickets
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On the Internet
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Up next
• Thursday: Phillies (Kyle Kendrick, 3-2, 4.76) at Astros (Roy Oswalt, 4-4, 5.43), 8:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Phillies (Adam Eaton, 0-2, 5.59) at Astros (Brandon Backe, 3-5, 4.58), 8:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Phillies (Brett Myers, 2-5, 5.76) at Astros (Brian Moehler, 1-1, 4.76), 7:05 p.m. ET