Philadelphia @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 14, 2010 ) Philadelphia 4, NY Mets 0
The Philadelphia Phillies finally found a way to light up the scoreboard at Citi Field. Of course, three costly errors by the New York Mets helped the power supply.
Second baseman Ruben Tejada's throwing error in the fifth inning gave Philadelphia a two-run lead on Saturday and All-Star third baseman David Wright did his best Bill Buckner imitation to allow two more runs to score as the Phillies posted a 4-0 triumph.
Placido Polanco provided the lone earned run for Philadelphia with an RBI single in the third inning. The run served as the Phillies' first in 38 innings at Citi Field this season.
Realistically, Roy Halladay did the rest, handcuffing the Mets through eight innings to secure his 15th victory of the season.
After trading shutouts in the first two games of the series, Philadelphia (65-51) and New York (58-58) will vie for supremacy in the finale of the three-game series on Sunday night.
The Phillies have closed to within two games of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, who dropped a 2-1 decision to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night.
A winner in 17 of its last 22 games, Philadelphia will look to narrow the gap even more by sending Kyle Kendrick (7-5, 4.60 ERA) to the hill. The 25-year-old right-hander was blasted in his last outing after pitching well following a brief demotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Kendrick permitted six runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings in a 15-9 loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday. The Houston native fell short in his lone outing against the Mets this season, allowing four runs and five hits over five innings in a 9-1 loss on April 30.
The Mets will counter with Mike Pelfrey (11-6, 3.95 ERA). The 26-year-old right-hander posted his first win since June 25 by tossing seven shutout innings to best 17-game winner Ubaldo Jimenez and the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.
The ninth overall pick of the 2005 draft, Pelfrey is also 3-0 in four career outings at Citi Field against the Phillies. On May 27, he tossed seven strong innings in a 3-0 victory over the NL East rivals.
Performances like that will draw resounding cheers from the Citi Field faithful. On Saturday, those same Mets fans greeted Francisco Rodriguez with a chorus of boos after the closer made headlines off the field.
Rodriguez was suspended for a pair of games after he was arrested and charged with third-degree assault on Wednesday night after a physical altercation with his father-in-law.
On Saturday, Rodriguez returned and allowed a leadoff double to Greg Dobbs before retiring the side in the ninth inning.