It’s time to beat the Mets as New York come to Philly for the last time this season.
The Phillies (72-59) will face the first place Mets (73-59) in an important two games series for first place in the National League East. The first game of this short series will be played in Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Jamie Moyer (11-7, 3.54), who is coming off a no-decision against the Nationals on August 21, going six and two-thirds innings, giving up just an earned run on five hits, in the Phillies’ 4-3 lost. His last two starts against the Mets were a pair of no-decisions, both of which would eventually be lost by the Phils, as he would go a combined thirteen and two-thirds innings, giving up four earned runs on nine hits. In four quality starts against the Mets this year, he is 1-1 with two no-decisions, giving up only eight earned runs on twenty hits. Lifetime against the Mets, he is 7-4 with a 2.85 ERA in eighteen starts. He will be looking to pitch his fifteenth straight good start, as he goes for his second straight win, while trying to pitch the Phillies back into first place. The Mets will counter with Pedro Martinez (4-3, 3.97), who is coming off a no-decision against the Braves on August 21, as he pitched seven innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits, in the Mets’ 5-4 win. In his last start against the Phillies on July 7, he would get the win as he pitches five and one thirds inning, giving up two earned runs on five hits, in the Mets’ 10-9 win. He will be trying to keep the Mets in first place in the East against a resurgent Phillies’ offense, hoping that they won’t be able to take advantage of his recent return from the disabled list.
The Phillies will be trying to retake the lead or stay real close to the Mets, hoping for a sweep, while being happy with a split, as they hope to end a so far very successful home stand with, hopefully, two more wins. The offense will be trying to see if it can hurt both Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana enough in the series so that it can then get at a now Billy Wagner-less Mets’ bullpen, so that they can light it up in the late innings, while hoping that its own suddenly better pitching staff will keep the Mets’ batters from getting on base and scoring runs. They will be hoping, now more than ever, for important contributions from the first four men in the line-up.
The Phillies trail the visiting Mets by a half game as they start a two games series. The Marlins are five games in back of the Phillies as they head to Atlanta to play the woeful Braves. The Phillies hope to come up well in this short series before they head off to Chicago for a four games series with the Major League leading Cubs.
Phillies Red Pinstripes 