Series Preview: Metropolitans at Phillies, 9/24-9/26

With their magic number to clinch a team record 4th straight division title sitting at 4, the Phillies (92-61) enter the weekend needing some help from the Nationals, who are playing the Braves, to clinch at home. The Phils will be facing the Metropolitans (74-78), who visit Citizens Bank Park for a 3-games series starting Friday night.

New York will send right-hander R.A. Dickey to the mound in game 1 of the series. Dickey threw a one-hitter against the Phillies last month at Citi Field. The Phillies will counter with Joe Blanton, who has notched 8 strike outs in each of his last 2 outings.

Injured short stop Jimmy Rollins, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury in recent weeks, faced live pitching in a simulated game on Thursday and could return to action this weekend.

The Phillies have won 8 of 15 meetings with the Metropolitans this season. Read ahead for detail on the pitching match ups for this series and loads more information.

Friday, 7:05pm. RA Dickey (11-7, 2.92 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (7-6, 5.04 ERA). Dickey is 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 3 career starts against the Phillies. In 14 road starts this year, Dickey has posted a 4-5 record with a 3.62 ERA. In 6 career starts against the Metropolitans, Blanton is 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA. In his last 7 starts, Blanton has posted a 3-0 record with a 3.21 ERA. Jose Reyes is 2-for-15 (.133 avg) against Blanton in his career.

Saturday, 7:05pm. Dillon Gee (1-1, 1.80 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (10-9, 4.78 ERA). The righty rookie, Gee, will be making his 4th Major League start. Gee has a 13-8 record and a 4.96 ERA in 28 minor league starts this year. In his last 5 starts, Kendrick is 2-3 with a 5.88 ERA. In 15 home starts in 2010, Kendrick has posted a 4-6 record with a 5.60 ERA. In 8 career starts against the Metropolitans, Kendrick is 3-3 with a 3.07 ERA.

Sunday, 1:35pm. Mike Pelfrey (15-9, 3.75) vs. Cole Hamels (12-10, 2.93 ERA). In his last 5 starts, Pelfrey is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA. In 5 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Pelfrey has a 1-2 record with an 8.17 ERA. Chase Utley is 9-for-30 (.300 avg) with 4 HR and 8 RBI against the right-handed Pelfrey in his career. In his last 9 starts, Hamels is 5-3 with a 1.55 ERA. In 3 starts against the Metropolitans this year, Hamels' record is 0-3 and his ERA is 1.69. Opponents are batting .202 against Hamels since the All-star break.

Fill-in Metropolitans closer Hisanori Takahashi has allowed just 1 earned run in 11 1/3 innings pitched (0.79 ERA) against the Phillies this season. Placido Polanco is 3-for-5 against Takahashi.

David Wright is batting .244 in 60 games since the All-star break. Wright is batting .345 against lefty hurlers this season.

In his last 9 games, Jayson Werth has gone 12-for-33 (.363 avg) with 5 homers, 13 RBI, 12 runs scored and 3 stolen bases.

Chase Utley has posted a .338 batting average with 4 homers and 17 RBI in 23 games played this month. In his last 12 home games, Utley has posted a .366 batting average.

Raul Ibanez has posted a .355 avg. in 20 September games this season. Ibanez is batting .232 in 15 games against the Metropolitans this season.

Metropolitans team runs scored- 618
Phillies team runs scored- 723

___________________________________________________

For updates and unique stats, follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...

Anthony Gose Q&A

A prospect who has been talked about a whole lot lately is outfielder Anthony Gose. Gose, a 2nd round pick of the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft played just 11 games for the Gulf Coast League Phillies last year, before getting hurt. Gose, an 18 year older, stole his minor league leading 36th base on Tuesday night, is batting .253 with 21 RBI and 29 runs scored, in 49 games with the Lakewood BlueClaws. Gose took some time to answer some questions for PhoulBallz.com, and here's how that went down... -I've spoken with the coaching staff and they're impressed with you this year. Tim Gradoville even compared your baserunning to Shane Victorino. Can I get your response to the coaches' positive view of your game and speed? I think it's great. I don't watch too many Phillie games. I'm from LA, I'm a big Dodger fan. So, I've never seen too much of how Victorino steals bases. I know they call him the Flyin' Hawaiian. I know he's fast. -Travis D...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog