Series Preview: Phillies at Metropolitans, 9/23-9/25

The Phillies, losers of 6 straight games, travel to Citi Field this weekend to take on the division rival New York Metropolitans in a three-game series.

During the Phillies' recent skid, the five-time National League East division champions have been without two big time contributors to their offense, as Ryan Howard and Hunter Pence have missed time with injuries. Howard has been resting his ailing left ankle this week, while Pence has been out since straining the patellar tendon in his left knee on Tuesday. Both stars are expected to play this weekend.

In the series opener, the Phils will send lefty Cole Hamels, who hasn't been very successful against the Metropolitans throughout his career, to the mound, while New York counters with right-hander R.A. Dickey, who is typically strong against the Phillies.

Philadelphia has won 10 of 15 meetings with the Metropolitans this season. Read ahead for more details on the pitching match ups and other key notes from this series.

Friday, 7:10 PM. Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.80 ERA) vs. RA Dickey (8-13, 3.35 ERA). In 16 career starts against the Metropolitans, Hamels is 3-10 with a 4.69 ERA. Hamels is 1-4 with a 5.05 ERA and a .340 batting average against in 6 career starts at Citi Field. In his last 5 starts, Hamels has posted a 0-2 record with a 3.71 ERA. Dickey has a 2-3 record with a 2.90 ERA in 5 career starts against the Phillies. In his last 5 starts, Dickey is 3-2 with a 1.56 ERA. Jimmy Rollins is 1-for-11 (.091 avg) in his career against Dickey.

Saturday, 1:10 PM. Kyle Kendrick (8-6, 3.04 ERA) vs. Dillon Gee (12-6, 4.48 ERA). Kendrick is 5-1 with a 3.15 ERA in 15 road games this year. In 14 career games (11 starts) against the Metropolitans, Kendrick has a 2.97 ERA. Jose Reyes is 10-for-26 (.385 avg) with a double, a triple and 2 HR in his career against Kendrick. In 14 home games this season, Gee has a 6-3 record with a 3.18 ERA. Gee is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in his last 4 starts.

Sunday, 1:10 PM. Roy Halladay (18-6, 2.40 ERA) vs. Mike Pelfrey (7-12, 4.58 ERA). Halladay has an 8-2 record with a 3.13 ERA in 10 career starts against the Metropolitans. In 16 road starts this year, Halladay is 10-3 with a 2.35 ERA. Josh Thole is 7-for-15 (.467 avg) in his career against Halladay. In 18 career starts against the Phillies, the righty Pelfrey is 7-6 with a 5.08 ERA. Pelfrey has a 2-4 record with a 4.62 ERA in 14 outings since the All-Star break. Chase Utley is 12-for-37 (.324 avg) with 3 doubles and 4 HR in his career against Pelfrey.

In 9 games against the Phillies this year, Josh Thole has posted a .192 batting average. The lefty hitting Thole has a .171 average against left-handed pitchers this year, through games on Wednesday.

Jose Reyes is batting .331 in 58 home games this season. Reyes has a .405 batting average in 9 games played against the Phillies in 2011.

Carlos Beltran's 15 HR and 66 RBI are still tops on the Metropolitans team, and he was traded away in July.

In 12 games against the Metropolitans this season, Jimmy Rollins has posted a .320 average.

John Mayberry Jr. has posted a .310 batting average with 10 HR and 30 RBI since the All-Star break. Mayberry is a .160 hitter in 7 games at Citi Field.

In 70 career games against the Metropolitans, Carlos Ruiz is a .228 hitter. Ruiz has posted a .320 batting average in 54 games since the All-Star break.

Phillies team ERA- 3.05
Metropolitans team ERA- 4.22
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