Philadelphia @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 4, 2012 ) Philadelphia 9, NY Mets 2
The Philadelphia Phillies' offense finally woke up in the latter innings of Wednesday's 9-2 victory over the New York Mets. Manager Charlie Manuel hopes his struggling club doesn't hit the snooze alarm against R.A. Dickey in Thursday's series finale. Dickey has been the talk of baseball en route to securing a roster spot in the upcoming All-Star Game.
Although they'll be teammates for a day next week, Cole Hamels will provide the opposition for Dickey on Thursday. The subject of trade rumors, Hamels has been the one constant within the Phillies' rotation this season. Philadelphia will vie for its second straight win after matching a season high with six straight losses. New York fell for just the second time in seven games.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), SNY (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies LH Cole Hamels (10-4, 3.08 ERA) vs. Mets RH R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.15)
Hamels pitched well, but suffered his fourth loss of the season in his last outing. The 28-year-old yielded three runs on seven hits in as many innings in a 3-2 loss to Miami on Saturday. Hamels has traditionally struggled versus the Mets (5-10 career mark), but has won both starts this season against New York.
Dickey continued his stellar season by scattering three hits and striking out 10 in a 9-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. The veteran knuckleballer defeated the Phillies in his lone outing against them this season, allowing just one run in seven innings in a 5-2 win on April 13.
WALK-OFFS
1. Carlos Ruiz has been swinging a hot bat. He homered for the second straight game on Wednesday and has four blasts in his last nine. Ruiz is 4-for-13 in his career versus Dickey.
2. With a victory on Thursday, Dickey would become the first Mets pitcher to win 13 games prior to the All-Star break since Frank Viola (1990).
3. New York's Ruben Tejada has collected five hits in the first two games of the series, but is just 2-for-15 with seven strikeouts in his career versus Hamels.