By Steven Zoine
Two of the favorite teams to win the National league according to Sportsbook odds are the Phillies and Mets who will face each other in an interesting series this upcoming week in New York City.
Phillies LHP Heal Cormier gave up his first earned run of the season. After allowing a pair of inherited runners to score on a Prince Fielder's double; Cormier gave up an RBI double to Corey Koskie that scored Fielder. Cormier has a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings after giving up the run.
OF David Dellucci, starting in left field for Pat Burrell, hit his first home run as a Phillie in the first inning Wednesday night; an opposite-field shot. After opening the season 2-for-18 Dellucci has six hits in his last 15 at-bats.
SS Jimmy Rollins snapped a 2-for-27 slump with a ninth-inning single Wednesday night.
1B Ryan Howard is making teams pay for bringing in mediocre southpaw relievers against him. His RBI single off LHP Brian Shouse on Wednesday night improved his average against left-handers to .311 (14-for-45).
INF Alex Gonzalez continues to falter as a bench player. He went 0-for-2 Wednesday to lower his average to .097 (3-for-31), and there is reason to wonder whether the Phillies will send OF Chris Roberson back to the minors when Aaron Rowand is healthy enough to return from the disabled list.
Mets LF Cliff Floyd was back in the starting lineup Wednesday after getting two hits the previous night. "I won't say that I'm there," said Floyd, who sat out the Saturday and Sunday games at Milwaukee because he was slumping, "but I feel a little better. If I keep swinging like that, I'll be all right."
RHP Brian Bannister will make a rehab start Thursday for Triple-A Norfolk against Toledo. Bannister threw 83 pitches in a simulated game last Saturday. Barring complications, Bannister could conceivably pitch next Wednesday against Philadelphia.
RHP Jeremi Gonzalez will make his second start since being brought up from Triple-A Norfolk on Friday against the Yankees. Gonzalez is 1-2 with a 4.30 ERA lifetime in seven appearances against the Yankees while pitching for Tampa Bay and Boston.
Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon was is in St. Louis for the series to study the Cardinals' new park and talk with club officials about any operating problems in the new Busch Stadium. The fact-finding trip is to prepare him for when construction of the Mets' new park begins this summer.
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WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
