Weekend Series Preview: Metropolitans at Phillies, 9/11-9/13

The Metropolitans of New York (62-78) come to Philadelphia to face the Phillies (79-59) in a four game series beginning tonight. Read on for details on the pitching match ups and other key notes from this division rivalry.

Friday, 7:05pm. Nelson Figueroa (2-4, 4.74 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (8-9, 4.32 ERA). Figueroa, a former Phillie, has a 3.00 ERA over his last three starts, with a 1-2 record. Colbert is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA and .457 batting average against in 2 starts against NYM this season. Hamels has a 2.65 ERA in 15 career starts in September. David Wright against Cole Hamels- 8-for-20 (.400 avg) with a homer and 3 RBI.

Saturday, 4:10pm. Mike Pelfrey (10-10, 4.83 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (12-9, 4.98 ERA). Pelfrey is 2-2 in his last 4 starts with a 5.32 ERA. In his career against the Phillies, Pelfrey is 4-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 8 games. Pelfrey's road ERA in 6.55 in 2009. Moyer is once again taking "Jay" Happ's turn in the starting rotation, while Happ deals with an oblique strain. Moyer's ERA in his last 5 games is 1.84. Moyer is 8-5 with a 3.55 ERA in 21 games in his career against the Metropolitans.

Sunday, 1:05pm. John Maine (5-4, 4.52 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (unofficially). Maine will be making his return from the disabled list and is expected to have a low 60-pitch limit. It will be Maine's first games since June 6th. Maine is 1-3 with a 6.34 ERA in 6 road starts this season. Jimmy Rollins is a .160 hitter (4-for-25) against John Maine. Kendrick is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA in 4 ML games pitched this year. In 4 career games against the Metropolitans, KK is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA.

Sunday. 8:05pm. Tim Redding (2-5, 5.78 ERA) vs. Pedro Martinez (4-0, 3.64 ERA). Redding has a 1-1 record and a 3.47 ERA in his last 4 games. Redding threw 5 scoreless innings against the Phillies on 8/22 in New York. The Metropolitans have won only one of the past 11 games that Redding has pitched in. The Phillies have won all 6 of Pedro Martinez's starts this season. In 7 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Pedro is 2-1 with a 5.34 ERA.

Angel Pagan has hit safely in 22 of his last 24 games played, batting .352 during that streak. He has raised his season batting avg. 32 points since the start of the last series the Metropolitans and Phillies played against each other.

Ryan Howard is batting .300 (60-for-200) since the all star break. Howard is batting just .207 (12-for-58) against the Metropolitans in 14 games this season.

Carlos Ruiz is batting .037 (1-for-27) with a homerun and 4 RBI against the Metropolitans this season.

Raul Ibanez is hitting .071 (2-for-28) in his last 9 home games with a triple and 3 runs scored.

Team batting average, Metropolitans- .269
Team batting average, Phillies- .257

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Kendrick & LaGrossa- Second Phils/Survivor Marriage

On Saturday, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick married 3-time Survivor contestant and former Flyers employee Stephenie LaGrossa. The couple exchanged vows in front of 105 guests at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Their special day featured many personalized aspects, including cocktail hour snacks modeled in the fashion of mini Philly cheesesteaks, as well as the couple's two dogs, Bebe and Champ, serving as flower girl and ring bearer during the ceremony. The pets wore a white dress and a tuxedo, respectively. Kendrick is now the second Phillies pitcher to marry a former contestant of the CBS reality competition program, as lefty Cole Hamels wedded Heidi Strobel, who appeared on the sixth season of Survivor, in 2007. _________________________________________________________________ Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter, for updates, stats and info, by clicking HERE . Photos- People.com

Michael Taylor Q&A

Michael Taylor is currently leading the Reading Phillies' offense and is near the top of the Eastern League in most stat categories (3rd in batting avg- .342, 3rd in HR- 14, tied for second in RBI- 55, 2nd in OPS.- .994, tied for 1st in runs scored- 49, tied for 1st in hits...). The 23 year old Taylor is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has quickly grabbed the attention of phans and media alike as a top prospect to watch. I spoke with Mike Taylor over the weekend, and here is that interview. With all the big stats and being among the league leaders in so many categories, do you think you're ready for the next step? It's kind of a difficult question. Do you have anything left to prove here? There's always something to prove. There's stuff to prove every game. I mean that's one thing that's very interesting about this game. It's such a numbers oriented game. You're only as good as your last "whatever statistical category that someone's valuing". ...

Mixed Feelings: De Fratus Expresses Himself

It was a wild and frenzied finish for several teams as the regular season wound down. While some clubs faltered, seeing their seasons come to an end, others triumphed and advanced to the playoffs. Whether it was a collapse or a significant comeback, countless states of mind resulted from the memorable final weeks of the season. Exhilaration, disappointment, confusion, hysteria and disgust could all be used to detail how players and fans all around baseball felt. For one young player, that list of feelings varies a bit but is likely just as long when describing his big league debut and the subsequent two weeks. EXCITEMENT Rookie hurler Justin De Fratus , who just two years ago was a member of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws South Atlantic League championship team, pitched a scoreless 12th inning to not only notch his very first big league victory, but to put his name in the history books, as the Phillies won their franchise record 102nd game. De Fratus found himself the pitcher of re...

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