Round Two of the emerging Mets and Phillies rivalry changes venues, moving to Philadelphia, where Philly fans will willing share their brotherly love, telling New York players how much they enjoyed how they collapsed last September, to allow their team to win the NL East. Neither team has started the year in a noteworthy fashion, with New York 8-6, having won last three in a row at home against woeful Washington. Phildelphia is .500 at 8-8 and has won last two series at home to even up record. 

The first contest is the potential table-setter for the series as both clubs will have their ace starting pitcher going. Johan Santana (1-2, 3.05 ERA) will try to rebound from hitting the sweet spot of too many Milwaukee bats last Saturday, in losing Shea Stadium debut, allowing three home runs. The Mets paid 137.5 million for six years for Santana to be the pitcher who was 78-31, not the one that 15-13 and allowed 33 home runs last year. In his career, Santana is 69-21 against the money line if his team is off a win (Team’s Record) and 40-9 if they are off two or more. Pitching in the Citizens Bank bandbox, err Ball Park, will not help his cause.

The Phillies will counter with their top hurler, Cole Hamels (2-1, 0.82), who is looking to win his third consecutive start after throwing seven scoreless innings while allowing only one hit in 7-1 win over the Cubs. Hamels like Santana, throws in the low 90’s and has devastating changeup that keeps hitters completely off balance. For pitchers that don’t believe you can pitch where the Phillies play, maybe they should pay attention to Hamels. In his relatively brief career, he is 13-5 at Citizens Bank, including allowing one earned run in 15 innings this season.

Sportsbook.com has Philadelphia at -105, after opening at -113 money line number. The total has settled at Un8. The Mets are 28-9 vs. an NL starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.50 or better over the last two seasons. The Phils counter with being 17-2 after a win by eight runs or more over the last three years. With a closely contested game anticipated, maybe the unusual angle of the Mets being 12-2 on Friday’s might be the difference.

Game 1 Edge: Mets

Philadelphia comes into this series showdown, tied for the major league lead in home runs. The Phillies power is not entirely a function of the home ballpark, with sluggers like Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell and Chase Utley. On Saturday afternoon on Fox, they will try to tee-off on the tosses of Oliver Perez (1-0, 3.38). The lefthander has a lot of working parts in mechanics and can be maddeningly inconsistent. When he’s right, he can give the Mets six strong innings, averaging about a strike per inning. When he’s not, Perez will surrender six runs in less than five innings like he did to Milwaukee his last time out. Jamie Moyer (1-0, 5.52) couldn’t dent a sheet of tin, with his lack of velocity. However, the lefty is a crafty vet, who moves the ball up and down and in an out, making him a challenge for about two trips thru the lineup. The Mets are 1-4 in the daytime, while the Phillies are 4-4. With both pitchers likely in the showers by the seventh, expect the bullpens to decide this one.