New York @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 23, 2011 ) NY Mets 4, Philadelphia 9

THE STORY: John Mayberry Jr. and the Philadelphia Phillies have been flexing their muscle during the first two contests of their three-game series against the visiting New York Mets. Mayberry has homered and driven in three runs in both outings, which were comfortably won by the home team. The host Phillies will vie for the series sweep when Kyle Kendrick takes the mound for Wednesday's afternoon tilt. Mike Pelfrey will provide the opposition for New York, which has dropped five in a row and 17 of its last 22 games.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), CS Philadelphia

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Mike Pelfrey (6-10, 4.61 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (7-5, 3.24).

After making a brief relief appearance, Pelfrey was back in his traditional role of starter in his last outing. The 27-year-old Ohio native suffered the loss Friday after permitting four runs on eight hits over five innings in a 6-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Pelfrey has split 12 career decisions against Philadelphia, although he is 0-2 with a pair of no-decisions this season versus the National League East rival. With pronounced rain following the Phillies around last week, Kendrick was called upon to provide long relief. Kendrick, who will turn 27 on Friday, tossed six strong innings but did not record a decision in an 8-4 loss to the Washington Nationals on Friday. Kendrick improved to 4-5 lifetime against the Mets after tossing seven solid innings in an 8-5 win on July 17.

ABOUT THE METS (60-68): Lucas Duda's two-run homer in the eighth inning was perhaps more cosmetic than anything else, but five of his seven homers this season have come in August. Superstar shortstop Jose Reyes (hamstring) will start a rehab assignment at Double A Binghamton on Thursday. He is expected to remain there for three days before returning to the Mets for Monday's game against the Florida Marlins. David Wright went 0-for-3 on Tuesday and has two hits in his last 18 at-bats. He is 6-for-24 in his career against Kendrick.

ABOUT THE PHILLIES (83-44): After breezing to a 10-0 rout in the series opener, Philadelphia scored the first nine runs of Tuesday's game to cruise to a 9-4 triumph. Mayberry, starting at first base in place of Ryan Howard (bursitis), belted a three-run homer to highlight a four-run second inning. Howard is expected to return on Wednesday to face Pelfrey, against whom he is 15-for-40 with three homers in his career. Mayberry is 0-for-5 versus the hurler. Shane Victorino extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a solo homer in the second inning. Cole Hamels was officially placed on the disabled list - retroactive to Aug. 13 - with shoulder inflammation, but pitching coach Rich Dubee boasted that the hurler looked "absolutely fabulous" in his bullpen session. Hamels is expected to make his next start Monday against the Cincinnati Reds.

FINAL PITCH: Philadelphia veteran reliever Jose Contreras will have season-ending elbow surgery. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. detailed that Contreras doesn't have ligament damage, but it is uncertain if he has either a muscular or tendon injury.