Phillies Preview: August 24, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies (71-50) at New York Mets (57-67)
1:10pm - Citi Field, New York, NY

Cliff Lee, LHP (11-9, 2.72) v. Bobby Parnell, RHP (3-5, 4.74)

The matinee finale of the four-game series will feature the Phillies ace, Cliff Lee. He has been simply unhittable in his first four starts with the Phillies, going 4-0 with an 0.82 ERA in that time. Opposing Lee will be the young Mets righty, Bobby Parnell. Parnell is coming off his worst performance in his short time as a starter. But the young flamethrower shows a great deal of potential and will be a formidable opponent to the Phillies lineup.

It goes without saying that Cliff Lee has been downright filthy in his first four starts with the Phillies. He will look to continue that success in the pitcher-friendly Citi Field on Monday afternoon. Lee hasn't seen much of current Mets, who are hitting .257 in 41 career plate appearances against him. Though Lee has been a strikeout machine with the Phillies, it is less important that he whiffs batters than it is to be economical against the light-hitting Mets lineup.

Bobby Parnell will have the tough task of trying to beat Lee for the first time in the National League. Parnell is a hard throwing righty who has some experience against the Phillies this season as a reliever. Chase Utley hit a memorable home run off of him earlier this year in New York and current Phillies own a .263 average in 21 plate appearances against Parnell. The Phillies hitters will need to be patient again, and if they can, they may rattle this youngster into a disaster.

After dropping the opener, the Phillies have bounced back to win two games and open up a bigger lead in the NL East. They will look to finish off a series win this afternoon with their new ace on the mound. Jumping out to an early lead will be critical to allow Lee to pitch ahead of the Mets. If they can do this, then Lee will certainly go deep into the game and give the Phillies a chance to win their 72nd game of the season.