Philadelphia @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 15, 2010 ) Philadelphia 3, NY Mets 1
Roy Halladay has enjoyed hearing his name called when the Philadelphia Phillies have faced the New York Mets this season.
Three starts. Three victories. You can't fare much better than that.
Halladay (17-10, 2.36 ERA) will try to up the ante when the Phillies (81-60) face the Mets (69-71) on Friday in the opener of a three-game series at Citi Field.
The 33-year-old right-hander is 3-0 with a tidy 1.88 ERA against New York this season. In Halladay's last outing against the Mets, he yielded just four hits and struck out seven in eight shutout innings en route to a 4-0 victory on Aug. 14.
Impressive? Certainly, but Halladay has struggled - by his standards - in his last three starts.
In his last outing, the hurler allowed four solo homers in seven innings to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. Halladay won the contest, but was admittedly disappointed with his performance.
Ever the perfectionist, Halladay has given the Phillies little reason to frown this season. The hurler has struck out 196 and walked only 28 in 221 innings this season. It's this ratio - along with his 17 wins - that has reintroduced his name to the conversation of National League Cy Young Award candidates.
Philadelphia has little to be disappointed with after winning 11 of its last 14 games to reclaim first place in the NL East. The Phillies lead the Atlanta Braves (80-61) by one full game with a pair of three-game series looming against their division rivals on the horizon.
For their part, the Mets aren't looking at the standings - and with good reason. New York is a virtual afterthought in the division, 11 1/2 games behind Philadelphia. The race for the wild card has long eluded the Mets, too, as Jerry Manuel's club is 10 1/2 games behind the Braves.
Looking for positives? Well, New York has won three of its last four and will send rookie Jenrry Mejia (0-3, 3.86 ERA) to the hill on Friday.
The youngest Mets starter since Dwight Gooden, Mejia struggled in his last outing. The 20-year-old right-hander permitted four runs and eight hits in five innings en route to a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs last Saturday.
Mejia has seen the Phillies before - tossing two scoreless innings - but will be making his first start against them.
New York should benefit from the expected return of shortstop Jose Reyes, who has been sidelined with an oblique strain.