New York @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 25, 2010 ) NY Mets 5, Philadelphia 2
The Philadelphia Phillies only have one chance to celebrate their fourth consecutive NL East title in front of the Citizens Bank Park faithful.
After seeing their 11-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday, the Phillies (93-62) will need to rebound and defeat the New York Mets (75-79) on Sunday and have the Washington Nationals upend the second-place Atlanta Braves (87-68) to claim the division crown.
As it stands, two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia enjoys a six-game advantage over Atlanta in the NL East.
On a broader scale, Charlie Manuel's club is vying for the best record in baseball. The Phillies trail the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays (93-61), while the AL Central champion Minnesota Twins (92-62) and defending World Series champion New York Yankees (92-63) are also in the mix.
Sunday's contest will also serve as Philadelphia's last home game of the regular season - and although there's margin for error, a restless crowd at Citizens Bank Park may not see it that way.
Presumably calming its fears is Cole Hamels (12-10, 2.93 ERA), who will take the mound on Sunday with a career-high five straight wins and a rail-thin 0.49 ERA under his belt. To be more specific, the 26-year-old left-hander has allowed just two runs and struck out 37 in that time.
On Monday, Hamels allowed one run and six hits in eight innings as the Phillies recorded a 3-1 triumph over the Braves.
Hamels has pitched well against New York this season, but an offensive power outage has resulted in three losses in as many games. The 2008 World Series MVP is 0-3 with a 1.69 ERA against the Mets in 2010.
A pair of rookies were to blame for preventing the Phillies from opening the champagne on Saturday.
Lucas Duda belted a three-run double to highlight a five-run seventh inning and Dillon Gee tossed seven strong frames in New York's 5-2 triumph.
Gee (2-1) settled down after allowing Ryan Howard's two-run homer in the first inning to pick up the win. The 24-year-old right-hander permitted just the two runs with five hits and fanned a season-high five in this one.
Jose Reyes slapped an RBI double, rookie Josh Thole added a run-scoring single and Carlos Beltran had two hits as the Mets snapped their six-game losing skid.
On Sunday, New York will try its luck with Pat Misch (0-4, 4.44 ERA), who is receiving a spot start in favor of Mike Pelfrey and Jonathon Niese. The left-hander has posted a 1.42 ERA in one start and one relief appearance against the Phillies this season.
Misch won't likely have to deal with Jimmy Rollins, who is still experiencing soreness in his hamstring. Charlie Manuel said following Saturday's game that the three-time All-Star shortstop is more likely to return on Monday than Sunday.