The Game:

The Mets (8-6) begin their seven-game road trip with a three-game series against the Phillies (8-8) this evening at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, starting at 7:o5 pm EST.

The Lineup:

• SS Jose Reyes
• LF Ryan Church
• 3B David Wright
• CF Carlos Beltran
• 1B Carlos Delgado
• LF Angel Pagan
• C Brian Schneider
• 2B Luis Castillo
• P Johan Santana

The Pitchers:

LHP Johan Santana (1-2, 3.05 ERA) starts for the Mets. He is coming off a loss versus the Brewers where he allowed five runs, on six hits (3 HR), while walking two and striking out seven. Santana is 1-1 with a 1.19 ERA on the road this season. In his only career start against the Phillies, Santana earned a no-decision allowing one run on two hits while walking six and striking out five over 4.2 IP.

LHP Cole Hamels (2-1, 0.82 ERA) takes the hill for the Phillies. In his last start, Hamels tossed seven shutout innings, allowing one hit, two walks and striking out five in a win versus the Nationals. In four career starts versus the Mets, Hamels is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA.

..this is a bit of a statement game for santana as he needs to rebound off a poor outing in his last start and put up a bunch of zeros on the board against the rival Phillies…no easy task, especially at citizens bank park, but in my opinion this type of game is one of the reasons why the Mets went out and got johan…

The Notes:

The Mets bullpen is tied for the National League lead with a 3.00 ERA and has not allowed a run in its last 13.2 IP.

Jose Reyes is 44-for-133 (.331) with 7 HR and 11 RBI in his career at Citizens Bank Park.

Pat Burrell is batting .350 (7-for-20) with 3 HR and 8 RBI in his last six games.

Carlos Beltran is batting .333 with 2 HR in 12 career at-bats versus Hamels.

The Mets starters have pitched more than 6.0 IP in their last three starts for the first time since June 24, 2007.

For more insight on the Phillies, check out Blogger Beat.

How To Catch It:

Tonight’s game can be seen locally on CW11 and heard locally on WFAN.

The Bleachers:

For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

…i’ve been waiting for the Mets return to philly since last september and what a way to start it off with a santana/hamels matchup…let’s hope this turns out to be an UltiMets Classic…

…yes, that was corny, but i couldn’t resist…

…enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets…

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