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May 21, 2010 - 3:39 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Boston (21-20) at Philadelphia (24-15), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The NL-leading Philadelphia Phillies have won more than 60 percent of their games within their own league en route to back-to-back pennants the last two years.

Facing the AL, however, has produced different results.

The Phillies are 10-23 within interleague play in that same stretch, and they'll hope for a better showing when they meet the visiting Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

Philadelphia won the 2008 World Series in five games over Tampa Bay but lost 4-2 to the New York Yankees last year, and it's encountered major problems against AL opponents during the regular season lately.

Those struggles have been worst at home, where the Phillies have lost six straight and 13 of their last 14 in interleague play. Boston has won four of six at Citizens Bank Park since the start of 2008 and is 14-4 against Philadelphia since the start of 2004.

The Phillies (25-15) are atop the NL again, thanks mostly to a 13-5 record in May. They bounced back from consecutive defeats with a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

Raul Ibanez drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the eighth inning. Philadelphia leads the NL with 219 runs even though Ibanez is batting .246 with three homers and 19 RBIs.

"That was a huge hit," manager Charlie Manuel said. "Raul's been a slow starter. He told me, 'Charlie, I can work my way out of it.' I believe him. He's coming around."

Ibanez has far more experience than any of his teammates against Boston scheduled starter John Lackey, going 18 for 48 (.375).

Lackey (4-2, 4.86 ERA) will try to bounce back after allowing 11 runs in his last two starts. He gave up five in seven innings of a 5-1 defeat at Detroit on Sunday.

"I thought I threw a lot better than my line indicated," said Lackey, who is 12-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 25 interleague outings, winning at Philadelphia in 2003.

The Phillies counter with Cole Hamels, who will be looking to win a third straight start for the first time since winning four in a row in May 2007.

Hamels (4-2, 4.29) beat Milwaukee on Sunday, allowing two runs in 6 2-3 innings of a 4-2 victory. He's still working a cutter into his routine.

"I'm still learning when to throw it and how to throw it," Hamels said. "It's something that's (based on) feel. It took me a year or two years to learn how to get the feel of the changeup."

The left-hander pitched seven strong innings in an 8-2 win over the Red Sox on June 16, 2008, but Boston may arrive with confidence after beating another tough southpaw in Minnesota's Francisco Liriano.

The Red Sox (22-20) defeated the Twins 6-1 on Thursday night for their third straight victory, one shy of their longest winning streak of the season. Victor Martinez had three doubles as he tries to shake off a slow start, while Kevin Youkilis stayed hot with a three-run homer and an RBI double.

Youkilis has three homers and nine RBIs in his last four games.

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia's .356 average for Boston in interleague play is the best all-time among players with at least 150 at-bats.