Phillies Take on the Mets in the Short Two Game Series

The Phillies are finally back home. Tonight the Phillies start a short two game series against the New York Mets after going 6-4 on their west coast trip. Cole Hamels will get the start on the mound for his second start since returning from the DL. Hamels in his first start against the Dodgers last Wednesday went six innings and gave up two runs on six hits and struck out five. There was a lot of controversy after the game because Ryno Sandberg pulled Hamels at 80 some pitches, when Hamels said he had plenty left in the tank. The Phillies would go on to lose that game 5-2.

The Phillies batters will face Jon Niese who is putting together a decent year going 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA in four starts. In his last start, Niese went a season low 5.2 innings taking the loss to Cincinnati Reds.

Game Notes:

• Carlos Ruiz was named NL Player of Week yesterday after going 11 for 22 with a .593 OPS on the week with seven RBIs. This was Ruiz first time receiving the award.
• Darin Ruf, Ethan Martin, and Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez have all been improving in extended spring training and could be making rehab appearances soon.
• Phillies hope to continue David Wright’s season power outage. Wright only has four extra base hits and no home runs
• Phillies will face former top prospect Travis d’Arnaud behind the plate.
• Look for the possibility for former Philly Bobby Abreu to come off the bench for the Mets

Phillies Lineup:

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Jimmy Rollins SS
3. Chase Utley 2B
4. Marlon Byrd RF
5. Ryan Howard 1B
6. Carlos Ruiz C
7. Domonic Brown LF
8. Jayson Nix 3B
9. Cole Hamels P

Mets Lineup:

1. Eric Young LF
2. Daniel Murphy 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. Chris Young CF
5. Curtis Granderson RF
6. Josh Satin 1B
7. Travis d’Arnaud C
8. Miguel Tejada SS
9. Jon Niese P

First Pitch: 7:05 PM ET

Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA

Weather: 47^oF 80% chance of rain. Spotty showers and windy 15 mph winds out of the east

TV: TCN

Radio: 1210 WPHT, 94 WIP

Additional Notes:

• The Flyers will be playing in game six against the NY Rangers facing elimination at the Wells Fargo Center at 7pm. Follow Flyerdelphia for Flyers updates.
• It is possible the Phillies game will have a delayed start with rain in the area. Stay with Philliedelphia for possible updates.

Andrew Shipotofsky is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Ashipotofsky