Sep 16, 2007, 14:54 GMT
- The Philadelphia Phillies will try to sweep the National League East-leading New York Mets for a second straight series today when the clubs conclude their three-game set at Shea Stadium.
The Phillies have won seven in a row over the Mets -- a stretch that includes a four-game sweep in Philadelphia from August 27-30 -- and have climbed within 4 1/2 games of New York for the top spot in the East standings. Overall, the club has bested the Mets in 11 of the 17 matchups this year, taking six of eight in New York.
Philadelphia extended their winning stretch with a late-inning effort on Saturday, as Aaron Rowand hit a solo homer to tie the game in the eighth inning before Jimmy Rollins drilled a two-run triple over the head of Carlos Beltran in center later in the frame to pace the Phils to a 5-3 victory.
Rowand finished with three hits and two RBI for the Phillies, who last won seven straight against the Mets from September 3, 2004 to April 18, 2005.
The Phillies bullpen continued its mastery of the Mets, pitching four scoreless frames following Kyle Lohse, who started on the hill and surrendered three runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts through five frames.
Antonio Alfonseca (5-1) pitched a flawless seventh and Brett Myers nailed down his 17th save with an adventurous ninth. With the win, Philadelphia remained 1 1/2 games behind the wild card-leading Padres, who defeated the Giants yesterday.
Philadelphia got more good news yesterday when All-Star left-hander Cole Hamels threw a pain-free bullpen session. Hamels, out with a left elbow strain, is slated to start Tuesday against the Cardinals.
One starter who could exit the rotation with Hamels' return is Adam Eaton. While he has struggled throughout the season, the Phillies hope that Eaton can continue his dominance of the New York Mets today. He is 9-9 with a 6.31 earned run average this year, but is 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA in three starts against the Mets.
Eaton bested the club in New York back on April 11 with seven innings of two- run ball and then recorded a victory over them at Shea on June 6. He got a no- decision when he started against the Mets at home on August 28, allowing two runs over 5 2/3 frames.
Overall, Eaton is undefeated in his career against New York, going 5-0 in six starts with a 2.08 ERA.
The right-hander hasn't won this season since July 20 for the Phillies, going 0-3 over seven starts since. He got a loss on Tuesday against Colorado after giving up four runs on three homers, six hits and two walks. He also struck out six.
Oliver Perez will try to win his third straight start for New York today. Perez, who is 4-1 over his last five outings, bested the Braves in his last start on Monday, holding the club to a pair of runs on five hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts. The victory improved the left-hander to 14-9 with a 3.42 ERA.
Perez, though, is just 1-3 with a 4.97 ERA in seven career starts against the Phillies, and his lone loss in his last five starts came in Philadelphia on August 29. On that day, he allowed three runs on five hits, but he also walked five. He did strikeout 10 batters, though.
Perez will try to follow up Pedro Martinez's solid outing from yesterday. Martinez pitched well, giving up just one run on seven hits with nine strikeouts over six innings. Jorge Sosa (9-7) was hit with the loss after giving up both runs in the eighth.
Beltran finished 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI in the loss, New York's third in four games that dropped it to 5-3 on a current nine-game homestand. Moises Alou extended his hitting streak to 19 games in the loss.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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