Phillies vs. Mets: Round 2

My Fellow Phans,

So it is time. Time for round 2 of the best National League rivalry as the Phillies and Mets are set to tango at Citi Field for the next three nights. I’m sure we all remember the first round between these two teams in Philadelphia during a weekend series at the end of April. The Mets drew first blood by smacking the Phillies around in a 9-1 final on Friday night. From then on, it was all Philadelphia. Philly ace Roy Halladay threw a complete game shutout against the New Yorkers on Saturday to even  the series at a game apiece. The next night, live on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, the Phillies got down early as Jamie Moyer struggled early, but a high powered Phillies attacked walloped Mets’ ace Johan Santana with a 9 run 4^th inning that sent the lefty to the showers early. The Phillies won the game 11-5.

So now, we come to round 2; this time it takes place at the home of the Mets, whom are gunning to knock the Phillies off of the top spot of the division. They are coming off of a series win against their fellow New Yorkers as the Phillies struggled in a series loss to the Boston Red Soxs. So here now is a preview of the upcoming Phillies vs. Mets series which looks to be another great chapter in the budding rivalry that is the Phillies and Mets.

Tuesday: Jamie Moyer (5-3 4.30) vs. R.A. Dickey (0-0 3.00): I am sure there are many fans who would agree with me when I say that I hope the Phillies learned a lot from facing Tim Wakefield last Sunday. Granted, they did absolutely nothing against him; maybe the experience will help them improve enough as they tackle their second straight knuckleballer in as many games. I do not know much about Dickey except that he is a knuckleballer and that he throws it at a higher velocity then Wakefield did on Sunday. I think its safe to assume that the Phillies will not be thumping out double digit runs on this day so Moyer pitching well is critical to this game. If Moyer struggles, the Phillies may have a tough time bailing him out like they have done on so many occasions. So, here’s hoping that the Phillies can start the series out on a good note.

Wednesday: Joe Blanton (1-2 5.06) vs. Hisanori Takashi (3-1 2.53): Blanton is coming off of a strong 7 inning outing against the Chicago Cubs. He has pitched better than his overall numbers would indicate which gives us reason to believe that he may have a solid game on Wednesday night. His opponent, Takashi, is making just his second start of this young season. His only other start was against the Yankees and he threw 6 scoreless innings which thinks it’s safe to say that he is not intimidated by tough hitting lineups.  He is a left hander; which seems to guarantee that the Phillies will struggle as the stats would indicate so far this season. Regardless, I picture this to be a low scoring game with runs hard to come by. Look for a well pitched and well played game from both clubs.

Thursday: Cole Hamels (5-2 3.92) vs. Mike Pelfrey (6-1 2.86): Pelfrey was the loser in the Halladay shutout from game 2 of these team’s last series. He struggled against the potent Phillies lineup giving up 6 runs in 4 rough innings of work. Even with his struggles, don’t expect Pelfrey to lie down quietly and get knocked around like he did in Philadelphia. That start in Philly was his lone “bad” start of the season as his ERA has been steady the entire season. Hamels has been just as good in his past couple starts this season. He has won his last 3 starts giving up no more than 3 runs in any of those outings which helps to lower his ERA under 4. This is the best pitching matchup of the series on paper and will be a fitting close to what looks to be a well played series. Let’s hope that Hamels continues his good pitching in this series.

Until we meet again, Happy readings and Go Phillies!