The Phillies will look the take the series from the first place Mets today after losing yesterday's game 3-2 in the late innings. Aaron Harang put together another strong start, but the offense could only muster up two runs. Today, Chad Billingsley will look to bounce back from his first start of the year while the Mets will look to Bartolo Colon, who is in search of his sixth win of the season.
Starting Pitching Match-up:
| New York Mets (19-11) | Philadelphia Phillies (11-20) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Bartolo Colon | RHP | Chad Billingsley | ||
| 5-1, 2.90 ERA | 0-1, 9.00 ERA | ||||
When the Phillies signed Chad Billingsley this offseason, they were taking a low-risk, high-reward chance. In his first start since 2013, Billingsley gave up six runs, five earned, in a 9-0 loss in Atlanta. He struck out two and walked one. His fastball consistently hit 92mph and with the exception of two big home run balls given up, Billingsley didn't look all that bad. Only two currently active Mets have faced Billingsley, Daniel Murphy (1-for-2) and Michael Cuddyer (0-for-3). The 30-year-old right-hander has a 2-0 record in his career against the Mets with a 1.77 ERA in four appearances, three of which were starts.
Meanwhile, the Mets will turn to veteran workhorse Bartolo Colon. Colon went 3-1 against the Phillies in four starts last season with a 3.21 ERA, 19 strikeouts, four walks and a .279 opponents' batting average. His last start came in a 3-2 win against the Orioles. In 7 2/3 innings of work, Colon gave up one run on six hits while striking out nine Baltimore hitters. 71 of his 97 pitches were strikes. The 41-year-old right-hander has struck out five or more hitters in five of his first six starts this season. The Phillies will have to be aggressive at the plate, because Colon has struck out 34 hitters so far in 2015 and walked just one.
Starting Lineups:
|
New York Mets (19-11) |
Philadelphia Phillies (11-20) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | RF | Curtis Granderson | L | 1 | CF | Ben Revere | L |
| 2 | CF | Juan Lagaraes | R | 2 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 3 | 3B | Daniel Murphy | L | 3 | 2B | Chase Utley | L |
| 4 | 1B | Lucas Duda | L | 4 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L |
| 5 | SS | Wilmer Flores | R | 5 | LF | Darin Ruf | R |
| 6 | LF | Kirk Nieuwenhuis | L | 6 | RF | Grady Sizemore | L |
| 7 | C | Anthony Recker | R | 7 | 3B | Cody Asche | L |
| 8 | 2B | Dilson Herrera | R | 8 | C | Cameron Rupp | R |
| 9 | P | Bartolo Colon | R | 9 | P | Chad Billingsley | R |
Chase Utley and Ryan Howard return to the lineup while Odubel Herrera takes the day off with Ben Revere moving to center field. After hitting .301 in the month of April, Herrera has struggled to keep that going, batting .172 (5-for-29) with an RBI and 11 strikeouts. On the season, Herrera is slashing .268/.299/.357.
Game Notes:
- Phillies vs. Bartolo Colon
- Ben Revere: 6-for-15 (.400)
- Ryan Howard: 3-for-14 (.214), 2 HR's, 6 RBI's
- Chase Utley: 4-for-11 (.364), 2B
- Jonathan Papelbon is tied with Jose Mesa for the most saves in Phillies history, so a save today would put him in sole possession of that honor.
- The Mets are 13-3 at home and 6-8 on the road.
- The Phillies have lost five consecutive series to the Mets and 16 of their last 21 games.
- Cody Asche is 0 for his last 21 with 10 strikeouts.
- While with the Dodgers, Chad Billingsley made five career starts at Citizens Bank Park, allowing just eight runs and never surrendering a home run.
Broadcast Information:
Gametime: 1:35pm EST
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy
TV: Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia
Radio: 1210 WPHT, 94 WIP, SBP 1480 (Spanish Broadcast)
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
