Phillies (15-10) vs Mets (18-7) Preview - philliesfan136's Dynasty

philliesfan136's Dynasty Blog

Phillies (15-10) vs Mets (18-7) Preview

Posted on July 22, 2011 at 10:19 AM.

(0)

PHILADELPHIA- May is just around the corner, and by taking a combined 5 out of 7 from the Padres and Diamondbacks, the Phillies cut the Mets' lead in the NL East to 2 and 1/2 games. They'll get a chance to take the division lead in a three-game series with New York, the first two games ending the month, and the finale coming on the first day of May. The team's GM made plenty of moves to further bolster it before the start of the series. The biggest was flipping Raul Ibanez and Shawn Hill to Detroit, who they acquired Ryan Perry from earlier in the month, for Brennan Boesch. Boesch will be in the lineup tonight against right-hander Mike Pelfrey, who has had a nice season for the Mets. The Phillies, meanwhile will have "The Good Doctor" on the rubber against New York, whom the Phils' took one of three from earlier in the year. Let's review Pelfrey and Halladay's stats as we await the rematch between the NL East's top two teams:

Phillies vs Mets: Tale of The Tape
---------------------------------------------------
RHP Roy Halladay
This season: 5 GS, 34.1 IP, 3-2, 3.67 ERA, .237 BAA
Last start: 4/23 vs Padres: 8 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 13 K (W 4-1)

VS

RHP Mike Pelfrey
This season: 4 GS, 27.1 IP, 3-1, 2.30 ERA, .245 BAA
Last start: 4/23 vs Diamondbacks: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K (L 2-4)

Roy Halladay hasn't been exactly dominant this season, although he has held batters to a .237 batting average. Pelfrey has enjoyed a nice season, but still could get lit up against the Phillies lineup, which has enjoyed a lot of success this year. When the Phillies played the Mets earlier this year, they were missing Ike Davis, who has done well upon his return. The Mets are without Jose Reyes this time, who is on the DL due to a herniated disc. New York's lineup has done a good job putting up runs for its solid pitching staff this year, especially Angel Pagan, who is hitting .433 with 10 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Here are tonight's lineups:

Starting Lineups
------------------------
Phillies
Michael Martinez SS
Placido Polanco 3B
Chase Utley 2B
Hank Blalock 1B
Brennan Boesch LF
Domonic Brown RF
John Mayberry Jr. CF
Carlos Ruiz C
Roy Halladay P

VS

Mets
Angel Pagan CF
Carlos Beltran RF
Ike Davis 1B
David Wright 3B
Lucas Duda LF
Daniel Murphy 2B
Josh Thole C
Ruben Tejada SS

The Phillies gave Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard the night off for this game, letting Michael Martinez and Hank Blalock fill in for them respectively. Blalock was recalled from AAA before the game to fill in at the corners, and bats cleanup. Brennan Boesch makes his debut as a Phillie tonight, batting 5th. The Mets, meanwhile, still maintain a good lineup even without Jose Reyes. Ike Davis, Angel Pagan, and David Wright, as well as Daniel Murphy, are players the Phillies have to watch out for tonight.

Summary
---------------
The Mets are without Jose Reyes in a game where they have a vulnerable pitcher on the mound. Roy Halladay has yet to have a dominant start this season, and he needs one if he wants to come close to repeating his 2010 Cy Young season. Brennan Boesch makes his Phillies debut.