PHI: 14-15, 5th in NL East; NYM: 15-13, 3rd in NL East
When: May 7-9
Where: Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia, PA)
Probable Pitchers
Monday: Roy Halladay (3-2, 3.40) vs Jon Niese (2-1, 4.08)
Tuesday: Joe Blanton (3-3, 2.83) vs Miguel Batista (0-1, 6.92)
Wednesday: Cliff Lee (0-1, 1.96) vs Dillon Gee (2-2, 4.50)
Broadcast Info
Monday, 7:05, CSN
Tuesday, 7:05, PHL 17
Wednesday, 7:05, CSN
All Games on 94.1 FM
Player to Watch – 3B David Wright (.375 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI): Wright was our player to watch last series, and rightfully so. He gets the honors again this series because he is still hitting insanely well. Wright is leading the team with a .375 average and 1.027 OPS. His 14 RBIs and 19 walks also top the team. He also killed the Phils in two games last time, going 5-for-9 with three runs, a homer and an RBI.
Series Overview: The Phillies are currently 3-3 in their nine-game run against NL East opponents, beating the Braves in Atlanta and avoiding a sweep in Washington. They come home to face the Mets, hoping to leap frog New York and Miami in the standings and retry their assent towards first place in the division.
The Mets lead the season series, 2-1, after winning the first two games in their April series and the Phils prevented the sweep in the final game.
The Phillies offense has immensely improved, jumping up to 17th in the league in runs scored while the Mets sit 20th.
Carlos Ruiz continues to be the best hitter on the Phils, hitting .318 with five homers and 19 RBIs. Juan Pierre’s average is still up, leading the Phillies with a .333 average and .388 OBP.
Hunter Pence’s average is slowly climbing, now at .274. He leads the Phillies with six homers and 20 RBIs.
New York’s offense orbits around Wright. Lucas Duda leads with four homers and is right behind Wright with 13 RBIs.
The Phillies’ total ERA has been marred by the poor bullpen as they sit eighth in baseball with a 3.38 ERA. New York’s pitching is flat out terrible as they are in the lower third of the league.
Roy Halladay will look to bounce back against Jon Niese today. Halladay was shelled for eight runs against the Braves on Wednesday in the Phillies’ wild 15-13 loss in 11 innings. His ERA skyrocketed to a 3.40 through six starts, his worst six-game start for the Phillies.
The other two outings favor the Phillies as well. Joe Blanton, riding off his first complete game shut out in nearly five years, will face Biguel Batista and his 6.92 ERA.
Cliff Lee will make his first start in nearly three weeks on Wednesday. He’s 0-1 with a 1.96 ERA through his first three starts. His last outing was a 10-inning shutout performance against the Giants in which the Phillies lost 1-0 in 11 innings.
TTB 