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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