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Sep 11, 2009 - 5:01 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

New York (62-77) at Philadelphia (79-58), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The struggles of closer Brad Lidge have gotten much of the attention for the Philadelphia Phillies lately, and Cole Hamels' inconsistent season continues to be a concern.

The most pressing issue for the reigning World Series champions, however, could be their angry manager.

After Charlie Manuel called out his players at the end of lackluster road trip, the Phillies will try to bounce back Friday night with Hamels on the mound to start a seven-game homestand with the first of four in three days against the rival New York Mets.

Even though Philadelphia won the first two games of its series in Washington, Manuel wasn't pleased after an 8-7 loss Thursday.

The Phillies (79-59) were swept in a four-game series in Houston to start the trip, and their NL East lead over Florida slipped to five games after starter Joe Blanton struggled in their latest defeat.

"We've been getting outplayed by second division teams," Manuel said. "We don't put nobody away."

"The guys who've been on this team the last couple of years - they know exactly what they've got to do," the manager added."We've got to have a little more get up and go to us."

The Phillies scored five runs in the ninth inning Thursday in a last-ditch comeback attempt, but their lineup struggled lately, plating three or fewer runs nine times in their last 14 games.

There has been no shortage of problems with their pitching, either. Lidge's future as the closer was in doubt after he nearly suffered his 11th blown save Tuesday, and Ryan Madson earned saves in each of the first two games of the series with the Nationals.

Lidge worked a scoreless eighth inning Thursday, but Manuel insists he hasn't lost his job.

No one is questioning Hamels' role, but his performance has often been shaky this year after the left-hander had a 3.09 ERA in 2008 and earned MVP honors in the NL championship series and World Series.

Following a rocky start to the second half of this season, Hamels (8-9, 4.32 ERA) seemed to have steadied himself, throwing 17 scoreless innings in two starts Aug. 26 and Sept. 1. But he allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings of a 4-3 defeat Sunday at Houston.

The Mets have been among the teams to take advantage of his struggles this year, as Hamels is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in two starts versus New York. He hasn't beaten the Phillies' biggest rivals since 2006, going 0-4 with a 5.40 ERA in his last seven starts in the series.

Philadelphia has still won eight of its last nine in what has become a lopsided rivalry, as the banged-up Mets (62-78) are playing out the string.

New York was swept in a three-game series by the Marlins capped by a 13-4 loss Thursday after a pre-game team meeting.

"Every time I have a meeting we seem to play that way so I guess we won't have any more meetings," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said.

One of the few positives during the series was the return of Carlos Beltran, one of several stars who has missed much of the season due to injury. Beltran was given Thursday off after going 2 for 8 in his first two games back.

The club's starting pitchers, including Johan Santana and John Maine, have not been immune to the injury bug, and Nelson Figueroa (2-4, 4.74) will make his fourth start since re-entering the rotation last month.

The right-hander, who pitched for the Phillies in 2001, allowed four runs and seven hits over six innings with eight strikeouts Sunday in a 5-3 loss to Chicago. He's 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA in the his last three starts, striking out 20 in 18 innings.