Photo: Philliedelphia/Andrew Gillen
With four games played in this five game series, the Phillies, down three victories to one, have already lost. In an early summer showdown between the two bottom-feeding teams in the National League East, this matchup seemed poised to send one team heavily reeling in the standings. And though they have already mathematically lost the series, the Phillies must try to salvage at least two wins to keep themselves afloat in terms of playoff hopes. They'll have to do it behind free-agent signed pitcher Roberto Hernandez. Well-known journeyman Bartolo Colon takes the mound for the Mets.
After making a handful of relief appearances in the middle of May, Roberto Hernandez makes his third consecutive start back in the Phillies rotation. He has had three outing against these New York Mets this season, though only one of those was a start. Those three appearances have also only accumulated six total innings of work. One earned run, six strikeouts, three walks, and seven hits (no HR) is the total for Roberto in those innings. Because he was in the American League since his major league debut, Hernandez will be making only his fourth appearance against the Mets.
A fan-favorite league wide, Bartolo Colon will be making his first start in Philadelphia since June 16th of 2008. He also had two starts in Veterans Stadium with Montreal in 2002. Back in that 2008 start with the Boston Red Sox, Colon got ruffed up by a couple of the current Phillies players. Jimmy Rollins went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, while Ryan Howard collected two home runs and 4 RBIs in another 3-for-5 performance. Carlos Ruiz and Chase Utley combined to secure just one hit and a single RBI in nine at-bats. It will be Bartolo's sixth overall start against the Phillies.
Game Notes
- Chase Utley is back in the lineup after having yesterday afternoon off. In the three starts he has had in this five game set,Utley gone 2-for-18 with just a single RBI.
- After a 1-for-5 performance yesterday, Jimmy Rollins sits just nine hits behind Mike Schmidt on the Phillies all-time hit list. J-Roll has collected four hits in this Mets series.
- Ryan Howard has collected four home runs and fourteen RBIs in his last seven games. He's had eight total hits in those games, and surpassed the 1,000 career RBI mark.
Phillies Lineup
- Ben Revere CF
- Cesar Hernandez SS
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Domonic Brown LF
- Reid Brignac 3B
- Roberto Hernandez P
Mets Lineup
- Matt den Dekker CF
- Daniel Murphy 2B
- David Wright 3B
- Curtis Granderson RF
- Bobby Abreu LF
- Lucas Duda 1B
- Wilmer Flores SS
- Travis d'Arnaud
- Bartolo Colon P
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Weather:
Game Time: 7:05 PM Eastern
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
