Series Preview: Mets at Phillies

Coming off a dismal 3-7 road-trip, the Phillies (10-19) begin a 10-game home stand with a weekend series against the New York Mets (18-10) at Citizens Bank Park.

Having gone 4-6 in their last 10 games, the Mets weren’t playing much better than the Phils. However, the New Yorkers still sit 4 games up in the NL East race over the Atlanta Braves, and are coming off a 2-game series sweep of the Orioles. The Mets are hopeful that they are getting their mojo back just in time to face this struggling Phillies squad.

Leading the New York offense are defensive wiz center fielder Juan Lagares (.300/.322/.345, 11 RBI), slugging 1st baseman Lucas Duda (.290/.379/.440, 2 HR, 12 RBI), and outfielder Curtis Granderson (.239/.360/.360, 2 HR, 8 RBI).

The Phillies counter with shortstop Freddy Galvis (.330/.370/.394, 1 HR, 8 RBI), rookie Rule 5 phenom Odubel Herrera (.286/.318/.381, 9 RBI, 5 SB), and the suddenly surging Ben Revere (.264/.304/.368, 8 RBI, 5 SB).

The series opens with a true battle of aces: Harvey of the Mets, and Hamels of the Phils, as trade rumors continue to swirl around the latter. (Photo from scoopnest.com)

PITCHING MATCHUPS:

Cole Hamels (1-3, 4.14 ERA) v. Matt Harvey (5-0, 2.41 ERA) – Hamels was far from sharp last Saturday in  Miami (6 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 6 S0, and 3 BB). The Phillies ace lefty looks to get back on track and dial it up a notch against a red-hot Matt Harvey. This amounts to a showcase game for Hamels, who remains actively in play on the trade market. Harvey attained his fifth win of the season last week after besting Nats ace Max Scherzer with a very solid outing (7 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 3 S, 1 BB).  Mets skipper Terry Collins was pleased, stating: “When you’ve got a No. 1 guy, it’s great to have… You can depend on him”. Harvey intends to continue his domination of the league when he toes the rubber tonight.

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• Phillies rumors: Club targets Seth Lugo for possible bullpen role
• Pirates’ bizarre Vince Velasquez hype video will make Phillies fans laugh

Aaron Harang (3-2, 2.35 ERA) v. Jon Niese (2-2, 2.40 ERA) – After his first poor start of the season, Harang quickly rebounded and put together another nice performance in Atlanta (6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 SO, 1BB).  He’s hoping for a repeat performance against a respectable opponent in Niese. The Mets lefty has put up nice numbers this season, but took a tough loss in his last start (7 IP, 1 ER, 9 H, 5 SO, 1 BB). He, like Harang, will hope to repeat his last start and potentially set up a nice duel between the two.

Chad Billingsley (0-1, 9.00 ERA) v. Dillon Gee (0-2, 3.86 ERA) – It having been his first game back in the majors after two years battling injuries and recovering from surgery, Billingsley was alright his last start (5 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 SO, 1 BB). Most important was that Billingsley was healthy. He is looking now to try to improve even just slightly in this game, as he is still getting back into the flow of things. Gee, a victim of poor run support in his last start, was decent against the Nationals (5 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 5 SO, 5BB. He is hopeful he’ll be able to go deeper in this coming start. NOTE: late rumors have the Mets switching to Bartolo Colon here.

SERIES KEYS:

Cut Down on Walks – The Phillies pitching staff has allowed the most walks in the league (116), which often leads to big innings for their opponents. As Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki notes, this issue is especially prevalent with the bullpen having given up 56 walks themselves. The Phils’ pen has allowed a walked batter to score in each of the last 9 games. A major league pen cannot continue to keep up this mark and expect to be successful. This weekend is as good a time as any to begin to crack down on free passes.

Home Field Advantage – Even with declining fan attendance, the Phillies home record (6-6) is much better than on the road (4-13). Though early, the difference is fairly significant. Employing several younger players this year, maybe the team feels just a little looser in their home ballpark. Whether there is any truth to this phenomenon, a team that is coming off a very bad road trip (3-7) could certainly use whatever advantage Citizens Bank Park may provide against the division-leading Mets.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

Game 1- Friday, 7:05 PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210FM, 94AM, 1480AM (Spanish Language)

Game 2- Saturday, 7:05 PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210FM, 94AM, 1480AM (Spanish Language)

Game 3- Sunday, 1:35 PM, TV: CSN, Radio: 1210FM, 94AM, 1480AM (Spanish Language)

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE for Citizens Bank Park this weekend

This Afternoon

Sunny, with a high near 84. South wind around 8 mph.

Tonight

Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light southeast after midnight.

Saturday

A slight chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday Night

Areas of drizzle. Areas of fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind 5 to 7 mph.

Sunday

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. South wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night

Areas of drizzle. Areas of fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.