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Phillies-Mets Preview

Sep 11, 2010 - 5:24 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Philadelphia (81-60) at New York (69-71), 4:10 p.m. EDT

An offensive outburst from Ryan Howard has the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies on the brink of their second five-game winning streak in a week.

The three-time All-Star looks to homer for a fourth consecutive game and help the Phillies create some breathing room atop the division when they face the New York Mets on Saturday.

Howard is 7 for 14 with two doubles and eight RBIs while hitting a homer in three consecutive games. The surge follows a 17-game slump that saw the first baseman hit .169 with three homers and seven RBIs after sprained ankle ligaments landed him on the disabled list.

Howard appears to have shaken off the effects of that injury, and can homer for four straight games in a single season for the first time since Sept. 27-30, 2007. Another strong effort at the plate could also help the Phillies (82-60) increase their one-game division lead on Atlanta.

Howard's tear continued Friday, as he connected for a solo homer and a double in an 8-4 win at New York (69-72) to open this three-game series.

His hot hitting is a big part of Philadelphia's collective .362 average and six homers during a four-game winning streak. The club has won 12 of 15, including a five-game winning streak last week, to overtake the Braves in the East.

Howard, though, is wary of a letdown against the Mets, who are all but out of the playoff race.

"These guys are definitely one of those teams that can come in and play the role of spoiler," Howard told the team's official website. "You have to treat them with the same respect as anybody else."

Howard hasn't had many problems against Mike Pelfrey, New York's scheduled starter. He's 11 for 27 with a homer against him, and his five homers in 13 games at Citi Field are the most by a visiting player since the stadium opened last year. That's the same total for Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran, who had a two-run shot Friday.

The Phillies are expected to be without Jimmy Rollins again due to tightness in his right hamstring. The shortstop could be back for Sunday's series finale.

Until then, Wilson Valdez will likely continue in his place after driving in a run and scoring another Friday.

Kyle Kendrick (9-8, 4.89 ERA) takes the mound for Philadelphia looking to rebound from a third loss in four starts. The right-hander, who has a 7.84 ERA in that span, gave up five runs and seven hits in four innings of a 6-2 loss to Milwaukee on Sunday.

He's 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA in seven starts against the Mets, splitting two in New York with a 2.00 ERA.

Pelfrey (13-9, 3.96) gets a third chance to set a career high in wins.

The right-hander has lost his last two starts with a 10.38 ERA after winning the previous two while yielding one earned run in 16 innings.

He turned in another rough performance Monday, surrendering six runs with three walks in 3 2-3 innings of a 13-3 defeat at Washington.

"I just see a guy that kind of loses confidence and I see a guy that doesn't have the presence on the mound," manager Jerry Manuel said of Pelfrey.

Pelfrey has lost two of three season meetings with Philadelphia, posting a 4.50 ERA. However, he has a 1.93 ERA while splitting two starts at home.