The Mets took two of three from the Yankees, and three of their last four to get to the Phillies. Last time these two teams met, the Mets just took over first place in the division and the Phillies were floundering. Then the Phillies took two of three from the Mets and since then, the Phillies have been amazing, while the Mets have not. Also since then, the Mets have gone through a series of controversies, and the Phillies have accused the Mets (for really no reason) of cheating. This series means something now. Well, it always meant something. But now its beyond just beating the Phillies because they are in our division, but they called out the Mets character and now its time to strike back on the diamond.
R.A. Dickey will get the nod over Valdes tonight. The Mets are hoping that not only does he replicate his last start (6 innings, 2 ER) but that he also replicates what Tim Wakefield, a friend of his, did the Phils this weekend (8.0 innings, 5 H, 0 ER). Dickey hasn't seen many of the current Phillies since he spent a lot of time in the American League, but there are a few batters who are slightly familiar to familiar to our starter tonight:
Ibanez 1-8
Dobbs 1-5, 3B
Werth 0-2
The Phillies will try to tame the recently hitting Mets lineup with Jamie Moyer. Moyer was the opposing pitcher during the Santana game a few weeks ago. Any other Santana outing, Moyer would have been stuck with the loss as he allowed 5 ER and 6 hits over 6.0 innings, including two homers. On the season he is 5-3 with a 4.30 ERA. When the Mets last saw him, he was really struggling (his ERA was 5.70 after that game) but two of his last three starts have been very good including a complete game shutout. The Mets have been able to put these numbers on Moyer over the years:
Reyes 12-46, 2 2B, 2 3B, HR
Francoeur 9-32
Barajas 4-10, 2 HR
Bay 4-11, 2B, HR
Blanco 5-11
Lets Go Mets! Beat The Phils!
*21/50 is not only Wright's average against Moyer, it was also the average score on the Quantum Mechanics final I took about two weeks ago. I'm not sure what that says about the final or about David Wright, but it was interesting to see that number pop up again in my life.
