Series Preview: Metropolitans at Phillies, April 13-15

Entering the weekend with a Major League best 1.99 ERA, the Phillies will continue to rely on that strength as they begin a 3-game series with the division rival New York Mets.

Among the most reliable hurlers for the Phils is lefty ace Cliff Lee, who will take the mound in game 1. Lee had a pair of strong outings against New York last season, allowing just 1 run over 14 total innings.

The Mets will counter with right-hander R.A. Dickey. The veteran hasn't had much luck at the home park of the Phillies, posting a 0-2 record with a 6.00 ERA in 2 career starts at Citizens Bank Park.

New York third baseman David Wright could miss time in the series, as he is dealing with a fracture in his right pinky finger. Wright suffered the injury sliding into a base this week.

Read ahead for loads more details on the pitching match ups and plenty more stats for this series.

Friday, 7:05 PM. R.A. Dickey (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (0-0, 1.50 ERA). In 6 career starts against the Phillies, Dickey has a 2-3 record with a 2.61 ERA. In 16 road games last year, Dickey posted a 6-4 record with a 2.99 ERA. Jimmy Rollins is 1-for-14 (.071 avg) in his career against Dickey. Lee has a 2-0 record with a 0.43 ERA and a .224 batting average in 3 career starts against the Mets. In 18 regular season starts at Citizens Bank Park last season, Lee posted an 11-3 record with 1.94 ERA.

Saturday, 4:05 PM. Jonathan Niese (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (0-0, 1.50 ERA). Niese has a 3-4 record with a 4.07 ERA in 8 career starts against the Phillies. In 5 starts at Citizens Bank Park, Niese has a 1-3 record and a 5.72 ERA. Placido Polanco is 9-for-21 (.429 avg) with 4 doubles in his career against Niese. In 16 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Worley has posted 7-2 record and a 2.33 ERA with a .204 batting average against. Daniel Murphy is 4-for-8 (.500 avg) in his career against Worley.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. Mike Pelfrey (0-0, 4.76 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (0-1, 5.06 ERA). Pelfrey has a 7-7 record and a 5.37 ERA in 19 career starts against Philadelphia. In 3 starts at Citizens Bank Park last season Pelfrey posted a 9.49 ERA. Hunter Pence is 7-for-18 (.389 avg) with a double and a homer against Pelfrey. In 17 career starts against the Mets, Hamels has a 3-10 record with a 4.46 ERA. Hamels sported a 6.86 in 4 starts against the Metropolitans last season.

Ruben Tejada has a .177 batting average in 20 career games against the Phillies.

David Wright, who is batting .583 through 4 games this season, went 15-for-38 (.395 avg) in 9 games at Citizens Bank Park last year.

In 109 career games against the Mets, Juan Pierre has a .309 batting average with 43 stolen bases.

Jimmy Rollins posted a .355 batting average in 15 games against the Mets last season. Rollins is 11-for-20 (.550 avg) with 4 extra base hits against Mets reliever Miguel Batista in his career.

In 13 games against the Mets last season, Carlos Ruiz posted a .389 batting average with a double and 5 RBI.

Mets team batting average- .251
Phillies team batting average- .240
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Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

A Letter to This Guy

Dear Cardinals fan, When a homerun ball is hit in your direction, do not close your eyes and raise both hands far above your head, leaving your face/chest/neck/head defenseless. Jayson Werth long balls to the cranium are probably not very comfortable. Next time, let the guy in the pajama pants behind you take a crack at it. He may not know how to dress well, but he keeps his eyes open in the face of killer shots from World Champion outfielders. Love, PhoulBallz.com PS- Stay hot.

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

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