Morning Phil Up – 4/29/2014 – Here come the New York Mets

Jonathon Niese. ImageCredit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday’s Game

The Phillies enjoyed an off-day after a successful West Coast trip.

Today’s Game

New York Mets (14-11) at Philadelphia Phillies (13-12)

Game time: 7:05 PM

TV: TCN

Starting pitchers: Jonathon Niese (1-2) vs. Cole Hamels (0-1)

Preview

The Phillies get their first look at the New York Mets. The Mets are off to a surprisingly strong start, and part of the reason is today’s starting pitcher. Jon Niese has been a solid pitcher the last few years, and his 2.45 is more indicative of the way he’s pitched than his 1-2 record. He’s faced the Phillies 15 times in his career, and has a 6-6 record in those starts.

He’ll be opposed by Cole Hamels who is making his second start of the season, and his first at Citizens Bank Park. Hamels pitched well his last time out, but was the victim of poor run support. (Hamels should be very familiar with this by now.) Hamels has traditionally had some trouble against the Mets as he is only 7-13 in his career against them.

It will be interesting to see if Cody Asche is in the lineup for the Phillies. After having a clutch hit on Saturday, the third baseman went 0-4 with four strikeouts on Sunday. Will manager Ryne Sandberg give him another day off against a tough lefty?

Link of Interest

Phillies Team Site – Raking Ruiz racks up NL Player of the Week award

Carlos Ruiz was rewarded for his huge week as he was named the National League’s Player of the Week. In six games, Ruiz had a league leading .500 average and seven RBIs. Somewhat surprisingly, this was the first time that Ruiz has earned this honor.

Tweet of Importance

Maybe one day they’ll write a poem about Rollins to Utley to Howard?