Mets 74-82 vs Phillies 98-58 Preview

R.A Dickey 8-13, 3.35 ERA

Cole Hamels 14-9, 2.80 ERA

Game 1 Preview:

The Mets have losted nine of their last 12 games but have thrived in a spoiler's role Thursday against the Cardinals. They rallied from six runs down in the 9th inning to beat the wild-card hopeful Cardinals 8-6. “When you go to work you should go to work hard,” said Willie Harris, who scored and drove in two runs in the ninth inning. "I think Thursday shoes these guys in this locker room care about each other and we want to win". Mets will have R.A Dickey start game 1 of the day/night doubleheader at Citi. Dickey could use another strong outting from the offense after he got 2 runs of support while losing his last two games. In those two losses, Dickey has an ERA of 1.84. In 3 career starts versus the Philadelphia Phillies, Dickey is 2-1 with 1.64 ERA.

Jose Reyes, who is currently batting .329 on the season, is in a tight race with Milwaukee's OF Ryan Bruan in which Reyes is trying to become the first Met to win a batting title. Reyes is hitting .423 in his last 12 games at Citi Field against the Phillies. He is also a career .324 hitter against Cole Hamels. Being down 4 runs in the 9th inning on Thursday, it marked the first time the Mets had done that since May 17, 2007, when they trailed the Cubs 5-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth at Shea Stadium and won 6-5. The last time the Mets did that on the road was on July 17th, 1973 in Atlanta according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

R.A Dickey:

• 3-2, 1.56 ERA, 34.2IP 31H 6ER 10BB 21K 1HR (Last 5 Games)
• Home (This Year) - 2-9, 3.66 ERA, 108.1IP 99H 44ER 25BB 72K 8HRs .245BAA (16 Starts)
• Career vs Phillies - 2-3, 2.90 ERA, 31.0IP 30H 10ER 9BB 23K 4HRs .250BAA (5 Starts)

Cole Hamels:

• 1-2, 3.71 ERA, 34IP 26H 14ER 6BB 31K 7HRs (Last 5 Games)
• Away (This Year) - 7-3, 2.95 ERA, 103.2IP 83H 34ER 21BB 91K 10HRs .218BAA (15 Starts)
• Career vs Mets - 3-10, 4.69 ERA, 94.0IP 121H 49ER 28BB 89K 12HRs .314BAA (16 Starts)

Game 2:

Mets - Dillion Gee (12-6, 4.48 ERA)

Phillies - Joe Blanton (1-2, 5.30 ERA)

Joe Blanton returns to the Phillies rotation after missing nearly four months with an elbow injury. Blanton has pitched just three innings since coming back from the DL, allowing 3 hits and a run while striking out 4. In his last game against the New York Mets he was torched for seven runs on 10 hits in just 4 1/3 innings on April 6. Blanton had been 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA in his first 7 starts versus the Mets, who will be opposed by surprising rookie Dillon Gee in the night game of the doubleheader. Dillon Gee is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in his last 4 outtings and will have a tough time against the Phillies. Gee is 0-1 with a 20.25 ERA in two appearances, one in which he started, this season against Philadelphia, both coming at Citizens Bank Park. This will be the first time Gee will face the Phillies at Citi Field. 

In Case You Missed It:

- Jason Isringhausen was honored before the game by the St. Louis Cardinals for his 300 career saves, having spent a good portion of his career in St. Louis, where he recorded 217 of those saves.

- Lucas Duda was rested Thursday, but after being examined again by doctors was determined to be fine, without having suffered a concussion Wednesday when he ran into the fence in right field at Busch Stadium.

- Jason Bay was held out for a third consecutive day, still suffering from the flu-like symptoms that are running through the Mets clubhouse.