Phillies Preview: September 12, 2009

New York Mets (62-79) at Philadelphia Phillies (80-59)

4:05pm - Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA

Mike Pelfrey, RHP (10-10, 4.83) v. Jamie Moyer, LHP (12-9, 4.98)

The Phillies and Mets will meet again on national television on Saturday afternoon in the second game of the series. Mike Pelfrey, the Mets' righty will be opposed by Phillies veteran Jamie Moyer. Moyer had been supplanted in the rotation by Pedro Martinez, but now due to an injury, will return as a spot-starter. Moyer has looked very good since the move, though, and will look to assert himself against the Mets. This will be an interesting match up, as the Mets have hit Moyer in the past and Pelfrey has looked decent against the Phils' lineup.

Jamie Moyer will get his first true start in over a month, as he makes a spot-start in the series. He will face off against a Mets line up that he should know very well now, as he has faced them numerous times since coming over to the National League. Current Mets have hit very well against him, as they hold a .315 lifetime batting average in 288 plate appearances. Most notably, the Mets have hit 10 homers in that span, meaning that Moyer will need to keep the ball down and in against the heart of the Mets' order.

The Mets counter with Mike Pelfrey, who has been wildly inconsistent this season. Despite that being his track record over his major league career, Pelfrey has always handled the Phillies. The hard-throwing sinker-baller will look to induce a lot of ground outs against the powerful Phillies line up. Lifetime, current Phillies are hitting .242 in 167 plate appearances with five long balls. If Pelfrey can locate his pitches and keep them down, he should be successful. The Phillies will want to pick out some pitches up to drive hard against him.

This afternoon's game should prove to be the biggest challenge of the series for the Phillies, as they have a legitimate pitching opponent. The Phillies will need to get their offense going in support of Moyer, who will try to make a case to make the post season roster in this start. It is also still unclear how long Jay Happ will be out, so Moyer may be needed for another start soon. A second win against the Mets can propel the Phillies closer to clinching the division and mathematically eliminating the Mets.