Friday, April 29, 2011
Posted: 12 p.m.
CSNPhilly.com
Phillies (16-8) vs. Mets (11-14), 7:05 p.m., WPHL
Starting Pitchers
Phillies: With Joe Blanton hitting the DL on Thursday, Vance Worley (0-0, 0.00) will make his first start of 2011. In four starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Worley posted a 2-2 record with a 2.78 ERA. He had allowed just 19 hits in 22 23 innings, striking out 25 and walking six.
Mets: Mike Pelfrey (1-2, 7.23) suffered his worst start of the season against the Phils on April 6. He was torched for seven runs in two-plus innings, allowing eight hitsincluding a double and a homer to Ryan Howard. For his career, Pelfrey is 6-4 with a 5.08 ERA in 14 starts vs. Philadelphia.
Previous games
The Phillies are coming off a 5-2 road trip that ended with an 8-4 victory over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins and Howard homered for the Phils, while Cole Hamels logged seven innings to earn the win.
New York had its six-game winning streak ended Thursday with a 4-3 loss to the Nationals. Josh Thole had three hits, while Ike Davis had two hits, including an RBI double, in a losing effort.
MLB
Head-to-head
The Phillies and Mets met earlier this season, with the Phils winning two of three matchups at Citizens Bank Park. Cliff Lee was roughed up in the opener, a 7-1 defeat, before the Phillies rolled up 21 runs combined to win the last two games. Placido Polanco went 6-for-13 with eight RBIs in the series.
Whos hot?
Closer Ryan Madson has allowed just one run in 10 innings this season.Polanco is leading the NL with a .389 batting average. He was 12-for-24 on the road trip.John Mayberry Jr. had a hit and two walks in the series finale vs. Arizona.
For the Mets, Jose Reyes has a six-game hitting streak and Davis has a 10-game hitting streak, including five straight multi-hit games.
Storylines
The Phillies are getting hit hard by the injury bug, with Blanton being the latest player to land on the disabled list. ... The offense has shown signs of waking up lately, but this will be a critical series to see if it's a trend or an anomaly. ... And some feel that it's only a matter of time before Madson - always streaky in the closer's role - blows his first save of the season.
Sound off
Are you most concerned about the injury to Carlos Ruiz, Jose Contreras, Brad Lidge or Blanton?
Related: Blanton to DL, but no DL for RuizBuy Phillies gear