The Phillies (26-17) begin a 9 game road trip on Tuesday night, when they head to New York to face the Metropolitans (22-23), who are in last place in the National League East division, 5 games behind the Phillies.
On Sunday, against Red Sox knuckle baller Tim Wakefield, the Phillies could not muster a run over 8 innings. The Mets will follow up with their own knuckle ball pitcher, R.A. Dickey, in the series opener, while the Phillies will counter with Jamie Moyer.
The Phillies won 5 of 9 meetings between the two clubs at Citi Field last season. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and loads more stats from this series.
Tuesday, 7:10pm. Jamie Moyer (5-3, 4.30 ERA) vs. RA Dickey (0-0, 3.00). Moyer earned a win against the Mets on May 2nd, when he allowed 5 earned runs over 6 innings pitched. In 23 career starts against the Metropolitans, Moyer has a 9-5 record with a 3.86 ERA. David Wright is 21-for-50 (.420 avg) with 4 homers in his career against Moyer. Dickey, who will be appearing in his second game of the season, is in the New York rotation in place of injured starter John Maine. Raul Ibanez is 1-for-8 against Dickey with a homerun.
Wednesday, 7:10pm. Joe Blanton (1-2, 5.06 ERA) vs. Hisanori Takahashi (3-1, 2.53 ERA). In 4 career starts against the Metropolitans, Blanton is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA. Jose Reyes is 0-for-9 off of Blanton in his career. Takahashi will be making just his second start for New York. The 35-year-old Takahashi was signed as a free agent after playing all of his professional career in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants.
Thursday, 7:10pm. Cole Hamels (5-2, 3.92 ERA) vs. Mike Pelfrey (6-1, 2.86 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Metropolitans, Hamels has posted a 2-4 record with a 4.12 ERA. In 4 road starts this season, Colbert is 2-1 with a 5.32 ERA. In 4 May starts this year, Hamels is 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA. Jose Reyes is 3-for-18 (.167 avg) against Hamels. In 6 home starts this year, Pelfrey is 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA. Pelfrey faced the Phillies on May 1st and was torched for 6 earned runs in 4 innings, earning the loss. In 10 career starts against the Phils, Pelfrey has a 4-3 record with a 5.43 ERA. Ryan Howard is 11-for-25 (.440 avg) with a double and a homerun against Pelfrey in his career. Greg Dobbs is 7-for-13 (.538 avg) with a double and a homer against Pelfrey.
Carlos Ruiz is a career .206 hitter in 47 games against the Metropolitans. In 13 games against the Mets in 2009, Ruiz was 3-for-34 (.088 avg). Ruiz is batting .304 in 14 road games this season.
Chase Utley has hit more homeruns against the Metropolitans (24) than he has against any other team. Just 2 of Utley's 10 homers this season have come on the road. Utley is hitting .354 with a 1.341 OPS against lefty pitchers in 2010.
Jose Reyes is a career .289 hitter in 97 games against the Phils. Reyes is batting .222 with a .550 OPS overall this season.
David Wright is 7-for-41 (.171 avg) over his last 11 games.
In his last 4 games, Jason Bay is 10-for-15 (.667 avg) with 8 runs scored.
Phillies team ERA- 3.69.
Metropolitans team ERA- 3.86.
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