Phillies Preview: August 23, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies (70-50) at New York Mets (57-66)
1:10pm - Citi Field, New York, NY

Pedro Martinez, RHP (1-0, 4.50) v. Oliver Perez, LHP (3-3, 6.06)

Pedro Martinez will be making his return to New York, this time as a visiting player. Mets fans will no doubt be looking for an opportunity to boo their former pitcher, as he enters the game as a member of their rival Phillies. Martinez, who only went three innings his last time out, will look to give the Phillies a quality start for the first time. He will be opposed by the highly inconsistent Oliver Perez. Perez has had a rough season, highlighted by a stint in the minor leagues.

Martinez has some experience facing current Mets hitters and has had mixed success against them. In 105 career plate appearances, those Mets are hitting a combined .256 against Pedro. The key for Martinez will be to locate his pitches early so that he can pitch ahead of the Mets. Gary Sheffield will be the toughest challenge for Martinez, as Sheffield has a .278 batting average with three home runs against him. The rest of the Mets lineup has not seen much of Pedro, but they are familiar with him, as he pitched for the Mets from 2005-2008.

Oliver Perez, a pitcher that the Phillies are very familiar with, will oppose Martinez. Though highly inconsistent, Perez is still a relatively young pitcher with great potential. His stuff is very good, but he often struggles with command. Current Phillies are hitting .243 in 190 plate appearances in their careers against Perez. The goal for Phillies hitters today will undoubtedly be to have patience and wait out the wild pitcher. Jimmy Rollins has a pair of homers in his career against Perez and will look to jump-start the Phillies offense today.

After a big win last night, the Phillies will look to build on that success. If their offense can get to Oliver Perez and get into their bullpen early, they should be okay. Pedro Martinez should provide a solid start against his former team, in a great pitcher's park. And you just know that Pedro is looking to stick it to his old team, in front of his old home crowd.