Philadelphia @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( May 26, 2010 ) Philadelphia 0, NY Mets 5
If the Philadelphia Phillies hope to avoid a fifth straight loss, Cole Hamels is going to have to continue to dominate.
The Phillies will be looking to avoid a three-game sweep today when they close out a series against the rival New York Mets.
Hamels has been an enigma at times this season, drawing boos from the Philadelphia faithful one week and then tossing eight strong innings the next. But the 26-year-old former ace has been on a hot streak recently, picking up the win in each of his last three starts and getting better each time.
After leading the Phillies to a World Series title in 2008, Hamels went through a bit of a hangover in 2009, falling to 10-11 and watching his ERA rise from 3.09 in 2008 to 4.32.
His struggles - coupled with the ongoing mediocrity of the rest of the rotation - prompted the Philadelphia brass to go out and grab Cliff Lee at the trading deadline last year and Roy Halladay last offseason.
The presence of Halladay has taken some of the pressure off Hamels, who has responded by turning it on in May, going 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA in four starts. He went seven innings to earn a win last Friday against the Boston Red Sox, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight.
New York has always been a tough matchup for the left-hander, however, with Hamels owning a 2-4 record and a 4.12 ERA in nine starts against the division rivals.
The Mets have been on a tear recently, taking four straight from their biggest rivals - the Yankees and the Phillies. The surge has brought them to within three games of Philadelphia atop the National League East.
It has been pitching that has allowed New York to dominate the Phillies in this series, with R.A. Dickey presiding over an 8-0 victory on Tuesday and Hisanori Takahasi leading the way to a 5-0 win in Wednesday’s contest.
Both Dickey and Takahashi were inserted into the rotation last week as New York searched for replacements for the injured John Maine and ineffective Oliver Perez.
The Mets will send one of their top arms to the mound today in Mike Pelfrey. The 26-year-old right-hander has allowed two runs or less in six of his nine starts this season and is coming off a win over the Yankees on Saturday in which he yielded one run in six strong innings.
But Pelfrey’s worst start of the season came against the Phillies back on May 1, when he surrendered six runs in four innings to suffer his only loss of the 2010 campaign. In 10 career starts against Philadelphia, Pelfrey owns a 4-3 record with a 5.43 ERA.