Series Preview: Phillies at Metropolitans, Sept. 17-19

Fresh off an embarrassing weekend in which the playoff hopeful Phillies lost 3 of 4 contests against the team with the worst record in Major League Baseball, the Houston Astros, the Phillies (73-74) will head to New York to take on the division rival Metropolitans (66-80).

The troubling weekend knocked the Phillies, winners of five consecutive National League East division titles, four games back of St. Louis for the inaugural second Wild Card spot in the NL. Phillies pitching allowed an average of 6 runs per game to an Astros club that had plated just 2.91 runs each time out in the second half, prior to the series.

New York has lost 8 of its past 9 contests, averaging 2.44 runs per game during that stretch. The Mets, however, have downed the Phillies in 10 of 15 meetings this season.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and other key statistical notes from this series.

Monday, 7:10 PM. Cliff Lee (5-7, 3.36 ERA) vs. R.A. Dickey (18-5, 2.68 ERA). In 7 career starts against the Mets, Lee has a 3-1 record with 2.25 ERA and a .233 batting average against. Lee is 3-0 with a 0.99 ERA in his last 4 starts. Ronny Cedeno and Ike Davis are a combined 2-for-21 (.095 avg) against Lee. In 15 home appearances this season, Dickey has an 8-2 record with a 2.55 ERA. Dickey has a 3-3 record with a 2.94 ERA in 8 career starts against the Phillies. Jimmy Rollins is 6-for-20 (.300 avg) with 3 doubles and a triple against Dickey in his career.

Tuesday, 7:10 PM. Tyler Cloyd (1-1, 4.95 ERA) vs. Matt Harvey (3-5, 2.92 ERA). The rookie Cloyd struggled in his last outing against Houston, allowing 3 earned runs in 3 innings of work on Thursday. Opponents are batting .293 against Cloyd in his 4 big league starts. Harvey is 0-2 with a 2.12 ERA and a .172 batting average against in 3 home starts. The righty rookie Harvey was the Mets' 1st round draft pick in 2010.

Wednesday, 7:10 PM. Cole Hamels (15-6, 3.06 ERA) vs. Jonathon Niese (11-9, 3.46 ERA). In 15 road starts this season, Hamels has a 9-3 record with a 3.24 ERA. Hamels is 5-10 with a 4.39 ERA in 20 career starts against the Mets. Scott Hairston is 11-for-28 (.393 avg) with 4 doubles and 5 HR in his career against Hamels. The lefty Niese has a 5-5 record with a 3.70 ERA in 14 home starts this season. Niese has a 3.07 ERA in 11 starts since the All-Star break. Ryan Howard is 1-for-15 (.067 avg) in his career against Niese. In 5 starts against the Phillies this year, Niese is 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA.

Scott Hairston is a .308 career hitter with 12 homers and 25 RBI in 43 games against the Phils. Hairston is batting .215 in 60 home games this season.

In 14 games against the Phillies this season, David Wright has a .344 average with 3 HR and 18 HR. Wright, who posted a .351 batting average prior to the All-Star break, has sported a .256 average since the mid-summer classic.

Ike Davis' 27 HR and 82 RBI lead the Mets' offense. Davis is batting .214 in 14 September games this year.

In 10 career outings against the Mets, Jonathan Papelbon has a 0-3 record with 2 saves, 2 blown saves and a 7.00 ERA. Papelbon has a 1.48 ERA in 29 games since the All-Star break.

Jimmy Rollins is batting .349 with a home run, 9 RBI and 3 SB in 15 games against the Mets this season. Rollins is a career .322 hitter in 27 games at Citi Field.

Ryan Howard has posted a .193 batting average while driving in 12 runs in 15 September games. Howard is batting .165 against lefty pitchers this season.

Phillies OPS since the All-Star break- .718 (18th in MLB)
Metropolitans OPS since the All-Star break- .670 (26th in MLB)
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