Series Preview – Mets at Phillies
After taking two of three in the weekend series against the Dodgers, the Mets travel 90 miles south to Philadelphia to begin one of the biggest series of the season, four games with the Phillies. The Phillies have struggled as of late, losing four of their last six, but are still in second place in the NL East, six games behind the Mets. Should the Mets sweep or take three of four, it could spell the end of the Phillies playoff hopes, and put the Mets out of reach in the NL East.
Who’s Hot – The Mets’ bats love the Phillies pitching. Carlos Beltran is only batting .261 against the Phillies, but he’s hit a team high five home runs and ten RBI’s. Jose Reyes has hit .381 in eleven games against the Phillies this season. Moises Alou has only 15 at bats against the Phillies this season, but he’s had 7 hits (.467), including two home runs. Carlos Delgado has hit three home runs and drove in seven of elven games but he’s struck out eleven times against the Phillies.
On the pitching end, Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez, who both are slated to pitch in this series, have been able to shut down the Phillies bats. In three starts, Glavine is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA, while El Duque is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA.
Who’s Not – On the hitting end, not many. Shawn Green hasn’t been able to figure out the Phillies pitching this year hitting .180.
When it comes to pitching it’s a little different, especially in the bullpen. As a team the bullpen has a bloated 5.69 ERA, in over 30 innings pitched. Aaron Heilman is a 13.50 ERA in four appearances, Scott Schoeneweis has allowed four runs in four innings, and Jorge Sosa, with a win over the Phillies, has an ERA of 5.40.
The Matchups: In the first game, Brian Lawrence takes the mound tonight for the Mets. In Lawrence’s career, he’s 1-4 against the Phillies, including an 0-2 record in Citzens Bank Park with a 6.55 ERA. Jimmy Rollins has had a lot of success against Lawrence, batting .500 with a home run. Lawrence will be opposed by JD Durbin. Durbin only has one career start against the Mets. On June 29th, the Mets lit Durbin up for six runs over four and two-thirds innings pitched as the Mets won 6-5.
The matchup of Tom Glavine versus Adam Eaton proves to be an interesting one in the second game. Glavine has a career 27-18 record against the Phillies. Jimmy Rollins has had a lot of success against Glavine with six home runs and thirteen RBI’s. Pat Burrell, noted Mets killer, loves hitting Tom Glavine, posting a .286 average with eleven RBI’s. Adam Eaton has had his career struggles, but he’s a different pitcher against the Mets. In five career starts, Eaton is 5-0 with a 1.89 ERA. Moises Alou has had some success against Eaton, hitting .375 with two home runs.
In the third game, Oliver Perez faces off against Jamie Moyer. Perez has struggled against the Phillies going 1-2 in his career with a 5.06 ERA, but in his start in Citizens Bank Park he was dominating, allowing one run in six and two-thirds innings. Pat Burrell has punished Perez, going 4 for 12. While that might not seem overly impressive, three of Burrell’s four hits off Perez have been home runs. Jamie Moyer has struggled over his past three starts, but has had success against the Mets. Moyer is 5-3 with a 2.88 ERA. Carlos Delagdo has always had success against Moyer, hitting .419 with 7 home runs and 15 RBI’s. Jose Reyes (.429), David Wright (.417), and Jeff Conine (.357), have all had past success against Moyer.
In the final game, the Mets send Orlando Hernandez to the mound to face Kyle Lohse. Hernandez has done well against the Mets this season, going 1-0 with a 1.50, but in his career, he hasn’t been as lucky, posting a 6.48 ERA. At Citizens Bank Park, he’s really struggled, going 1-1 with a 10.50 ERA. Shane Victorino has done well against El Duque, hitting .444 with one home run and three RBI’s. Kyle Lohse has only faced the Mets twice in his career going 0-1, but has pitched well since coming to the Phillies from the Cincinnati Reds.
You can look at stats until you are blue in the face, but good teams find ways to win during a stretch run. The Phillies have struggled as of late, losing four of their last six, but are still in second place in the NL East, six games behind the Mets. Should the Mets sweep or take three of four, it could spell the end of the Phillies playoff hopes, and put the Mets out of reach in the NL East.
The one thing we will be guaranteed is to see some good baseball. Anytime these division rivals play each other, both teams are at the top of their game playing their best baseball. First pitch happens tonight at 7:05 in Philadelphia.
The Orphan 
There’s going to be some great baseball! The Phils need to take three in this series. The bats blew it up last night. i think they can continue it tonight against Lawrence. He’s lucky to be in the league.
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