New York @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( May 27, 2010 ) Philadelphia 0, NY Mets 3
Despite a number of injuries, the Philadelphia Phillies have simply refused to give into a ready-made excuse.
Winners of four in a row and 12 of their last 14 games, the Phillies (60-48) will ride their hot streak back home. With 16 of its next 19 contests at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia opens a three-game series against the arch-rival New York Mets (54-54) on Friday.
The Phillies currently rest two games behind the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves, while the Mets sit eight games back after dropping three of their last four.
Philadelphia's surge is all the more impressive considering it is without 2006 National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard (ankle), four-time All-Star second baseman Chase Utley (thumb) and outfielder Shane Victorino (oblique). The trio has taken residence on the disabled list with no immediate return in sight.
On the field, however, the Phillies are racing. Right-hander Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.86 ERA) will look to keep the good times rolling as the hefty hurler takes the mound tonight against rookie southpaw Jonathon Niese (7-5, 3.78 ERA).
Blanton has been fairly consistent this season - and not in a good way. The 29-year-old Tennessee native has permitted at least three runs in all but one of his 17 starts this season.
In his last outing on Saturday, Blanton received a no-decision after he allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings of a 7-5 loss to the Washington Nationals.
Helping to aid Blanton is his batterymate Carlos Ruiz, who led off the 10th inning with a home run on Thursday to lift the Phillies to a 5-4 victory over the Florida Marlins and cap a three-game sweep at Sun Life Stadium.
Ruiz also added a pair of doubles and three RBIs to lead the charge. He has recorded three of his five home runs this season in his last five games - in addition to eight of his 26 RBIs during the same stretch.
Raul Ibanez extended his hitting streak to 13 consecutive games with three hits and an RBI double and Jayson Werth had a run-scoring single for Philadelphia.
Subduing the Phillies is the responsibility of Niese, who earned the start after the Mets elected to skip Hisanori Takahashi's turn in the rotation. Niese allowed a career-high seven runs in his last outing, a 14-1 decision to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
Niese was masterful in his last outing against the Phillies, however. The 23-year-old southpaw allowed just one run and four hits and struck out seven in seven innings as the Mets posted a 9-1 triumph on April 30.
New York won't beat anyone if it has a repeat performance of its last game. The Amazins' were anything but as they made four errors in an 8-3 loss to the Braves.